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FOR 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



A MANUAL OF 



HYGIENE FOR WOMEN 



THE HOUSEHOLD 



Mrs. E. G. COOK, M.D. 






ILLUSTRATED. 




NEW YORK: 
THE HYGIENIC PUBLISHING CO., 

NO. 917 BROADWAY. 
1884. 



^- ;-Vl 



^"^ ft'l' 



COPYRIGHT, 1883, BY 
MRS. E. G. COOK, M.D. 



EDWARD O. JENKINS, 

Printer and Stereotyper^ 
20 North William St., New York. 



TO 
MY DEAR DAUGHTERS AND SISTER, 

AND 
MY DEAR FRIEND AND WOMAN'S HELPER, 

MRS. ALEX. MITCHELL, 

TO WHOM, OUT OF ADMIRATION AND RESPECT I WOULD SHOW 

HOW DEEPLY I APPRECIATE HER LIFE OF MARVELOUS 

INDUSTRY, 

I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface, .5 

CHAPTER I. 
The Importance of Physical Culture, . . 17 

CHAPTER n. 
Bone, 34 

CHAPTER HI. 
Muscles, 45 

CHAPTER IV. 

Ventilation, and the Importance of Hygiene, 66 

CHAPTER V. 

The Brain and Nervous System, .... 78 

CHAPTER VI. 
Intemperance, S6 

CHAPTER VII. 
Tobacco, 93 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Structure and Care of the Skin, . . 96 

• CHAPTER IX. 

Bread and Butter .105 

(3) 



4 ^ CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

To Working-Women and Serving-Girls, . .135 

CHAPTER XL 

The Uterus and its Appendages, . . .158 

CHAPTER XII. 
Menstruation, and Care during it, . . .180 

CHAPTER XIII. 

The various Displacements of the Uterus, 

WITH A Severe Case of Ulceration, . 189 

CHAPTER XIV. 

On Marriage and Maternity, . . . . 206 

CHAPTER XV. 
Cases and Treatment of Insane Women, . .216 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Children's Rights 228 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Duties of Women, 236 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Evils of a Forced Education, . . 259 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The Care of Infants, 273 

CHAPTER XX. 
Miscellaneous, . . 293 



PREFACE. 



" There is nothing new under the sun/' Yet 
the author of this volume, in publishing it, claims 
only the oppressive conviction of woman's need of 
physical knowledge to venture among the critics. 

She asks a careful reading, and hopes by its light 
and guidance that many sufferers who grope in dark- 
ness may find the road to health. 

It has been my lot for many years to see and to 
■ feel the sufferings of women ; my work has been to 
study their causes, and try to relieve them. 

God does not intend us to suffer if we obey His 
laws. 

The belief that pain, disease, premature decay, 
and death come of ignorance, or violation of nat- 
ure's laws, gives me nerve and courage to work for 
the physical education and regeneration of woman. 
This subject embraces and underlies every other. 
We can not neglect to learn, if it be in our power, 
nor can we willfully break these laws without sin- 
ning against God. 

The fabric of which we are made is not what 
God intended it to be. It is weak, and permeated 
through every fiber and tiny cell with enervation, 



6 PREFACE. 

with little power of endurance, and with suscepti- 
bility to all sorts of disease. The lungs, liver, kid- 
neys, and mucous membrane need a purer and more 
enduring structure, in order to resist the conges- 
tions to which this climate especially subjects 
them. This the people must have, and knowledge 
how to preserve it. I feel that humanity can be 
mended, its tendencies to disease lessened, and 
many of its ills prevented. 

Men are too full of business occupations, which 
are constantly multiplying, to give this subject the 
thought it fully demands. Women themselves 
must not only work out their own physical salva- 
tion, but that of men as well. They must make of 
themselves and their children what God has en- 
joined upon us all, '^ Fit temples for the Holy 
Spirit to dwell in.'* 

The very first thing to do is to mend ourselves. 
Let each individual study her own person, and see 
how almost every hour in the day she violates 
some of the laws of health. Observe how many a 
sensible woman, so called, spends a single day. 
She is often the first one up in the house, for she 
*' sleeps with one eye open ''; she perhaps takes a 
hurried bath, dresses in haste, not thinking whether 
the bands she pins around the body allow its organs 
to do their appointed work without hindrance ; or 
of the weight of clothing on her hips, which would 
kill her strong husband. When she comes to 
breakfast, she casts a scrutinizing glance over the 



.PREFACE. 7 

table, which tells of anxiety and unrest. She does 
not rest a half hour after, to let the digestive ap- 
paratus have full nerve power ; but, if she is a 
woman of society, or a minister's wife, she must be 
ready for callers. The house must be overlooked 
from attic to basement, whether she leaves baby 
with nurse or carries him. When her husband re- 
turns to dinner, he finds his home the pink of per- 
fection. The visit she has planned with him after 
dinner is prevented by a friend, who called to share 
it ; and if between the calls of visitors and children, 
of servants and beggars, she has an hour of perfect 
rest before bedtime, she is fortunate. 

The demands of society must be studied, and 
that which kills ignored, if women wish to attain to 
a state of physical perfection. 

How easy it is to be good if one is well, and how 
.difficult sometimes when one is sick. It is no more 
difficult to understand the laws of health than 
many other things in which women become pro- 
ficient. If they study them with as much thought 
as is given to the making of dresses and bonnets, or 
in vying with each other in making dainties for the 
table, they will find them quite as easy. 

With the birth of each new day, God's book of 
nature turns a new leaf for our consideration. Those 
who deem these lessons irksome, and prefer to 
seek enjoyment in pursuit of what the world calls 
pleasure, starve their souls and kill their bodies. If 
we attain anything in this short life worthy of immor- 



8 PREFACE. 

tality, we must make up our minds to ignore what 
people think, or say, and be as sure as we can of 
walking in duty's path, fearing nothing but God 
and our own conscience. 

What if those we meet turn a cold shoulder, be- 
cause we dare to dress comfortably, and put noth- 
ing but plain food upon our tables ; or because we 
dare to follow the dictates of our own conscience 
and common-sense, in spite of custom. This per- 
sistent effort to live a perfectly healthful life will, 
in the end, commend itself to the good sense of all 
who love right, and who are worthy of our con- 
sideration. When each individual will do her part 
in the holy crusade against this ignorance which 
fosters disease, it will bring us nearer the good 
time when our souls and bodies shall truly be made 
in the Divine image. We shall then be as *' Gods, 
knowing good and evil," with power to create and 
enjoy beyond our present capacity to know or 
dream. If we look abroad upon nature, we see one 
vast law of harmony, of proportion, of correspond- 
ence, and of beauty everywhere prevails. The re- 
lation which one planet has to another, or one part 
of the human system to another, bears testimony to 
an overruling and guiding mind. 

"Men can not gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
thistles." '* Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall 
he also reap." These are proverbs known to all ; 
yet we see daily, time and money wasted in trying 
to make beautiful women with tapering waists, and 



PREFACE. 9 

with a weight of clothing upon her hips which, if 
placed upon a growing tree, would each day render 
it weaker and more liable to give way to the blasts 
which at any time may strike it. 

If the fashionable bustle were tied and strapped 
to a valuable horse for a month, it would ruin him. 
The horse and the tree would quietly yield to this 
pressure, and nature's forces would expend them- 
selves above and below it. It would do its best to 
rival its fellows. So do the natural forces in women, 
who are enfeebled by wrong living and wrong 
dressing, push them on, sometimes, to old age, and 
they die, leaving a posterity who, if they knew 
how their ills came upon them, might curse, in-, 
stead of bless, their memory. 

The conditions which favor the most perfect de- 
velopment of every organ in the body are the ones 
to consider in endeavoring to make it beautiful. 
'^ If one member suffer, all the others suffer with it." 

One reason why women and girls have so much 
backache is because the corset or bands around the 
waist and the weight of clothing on the hips tend 
to pull the vertebrse apart. There is an unnatural 
strain upon these ligaments and muscles, and they 
are weakened and enfeebled because they have to 
carry the burdens intended for the bony structure 
of the shoulders. The consequence is that there 
are many women to-day in fashionable society who 
really think their tapering, weak, and small waists are 
natural and beautiful; while educated, intelligent, 



lO • PREFACE. 

and thinking people know they are deformed. The 
natural shape is lost, or in such a state that years 
of constant labor will be required to bring it back 
again. These deformities are hideous, and totally 
unfit women for the battle and work of life. 

The shape of a natural waist is like a cone, with 
the largest part, or base, down. 

What would be said of an artist who should 
model or paint a tapering waist ? Such an innova- 
tion would be considered monstrous, and not for a 
moment tolerated by the critics. Those who have 
feasted their eyes on the beautiful proportions of 
Venus with the apple, or Venus de Medici, or 
Powers' Greek slave, would be pained to know that 
- fashion had changed them into the present unnat- 
ural shape. 

We are commanded to ^' lay aside every weight 
and the sin which so easily besets us." But what 
woman on earth, let me ask, can run the life race 
with patience dressed in modern style ? 

It is not a difficult task to emancipate ourselves 
from these bands which tie down the ribs three, 
four, and even six inches, and from the weight of 
clothing which is thrown off every night with a sigh 
of relief. It is easier than we dream to learn how 
to dress warmly, lightly, and beautifully. 

The weight of clothing on the hips is one great 
obstacle in the way of curing many local female 
difficulties ; and, until the mothers of our land be- 
come educated in anatomy and physiology, there is 



PREFACE. 1 1 

little hope for the improvement of which our physi- 
cal nature is capable. By studiously avoiding un- 
due pressure on any part of the body, we can main- 
tain its beautiful proportions to the latest day of 
life. ^' Prevention is better than cure." 

Although the beautiful forms of Greek women 
have been talked of and written about for ages, we 
"never tire of contemplating them. This nation of 
mothers would do well to add Greek modes of phys- 
ical culture to the vastly superior methods of in- 
tellectual training now employed. 

Temperance in all things characterized the Greek 
nation. Their matrons took great pride in a nu- 
merous and beautiful offspring. Their undergar- 
ments were knitted and made to fit the body per- 
fectly, and enough of these worn to secure the 
equal warmth of the body. Loose robes covered 
these, and were made plain or elaborate, according 
to the wealth or station of the wearer. Bands 
around the waist, a weight upon the hips, and cor- 
sets were unknown. 

There is no need to go back to ancient Greece 
for models of healthy dress — a sufficient variety 
can be obtained at the present day. We must 
work out our own physical salvation with great 
caution, and, in fitting ourselves or our children, 
fear and tremble lest the tiniest blood-vessel is 
compressed and unfitted for the work for which the 
Creator designed it. 

The art of clothing one's self beautifully as well 



12 PREFACE. 

as healthfully is now occupying the minds of many 
thinking people. The ball is rolling, and when 
women have acquired a knowledge of their need, 
and have sufficient determination to demand it, 
Dame Fashion Avill cater to them, instead of being 
the imperious mistress she now is. 

Princess underwear suspended from the shoul- 
ders will supersede that now used. 

There never comes a time in the life of any sane 
woman when she does not desire to look well and 
to know that she possesses the power to please ; 
neither is she ever insensible to the voice of praise. 
To have the good opinion and esteem of those we 
truly respect and love, ranks among the highest 
enjoyments of life. To a mother there is no joy 
so great as to receive the appreciative praise of her 
children and those near and dear to her. In short, 
to grow old beautifully — to have old Time, while 
he takes away the youth of women, leave them the 
full possession of their charms — is what all should 
earnestly seek. 

There is one branch too much neglected by the 
young women of the present day. I refer to the 
mother of arts and sciences, good cooking. The 
importance of scientific cooking can not be over- 
estimated. Persons without brains can not learn 
the art. Intellectual labor is as dependent upon 
good and healthy food as our clothing is upon the 
fabric of which it is made. 

A knowledge of how and what to eat and drink, 



PREFACE. ' 13 

and how to make and wear the clothing, will put old 
age a long way off ; it will preserve the freshness 
of youthful feelings a whole century. It is quite 
probable that some of the children now upon the 
stage may be induced to celebrate another centen- 
nial by understanding the science of cooking in its 
real adaptation to the needs of the system. 

Another activity of which I would speak is the 
establishment of a Woman's Christian Association, 
the same in all respects as the Young Men's 
Christian Association. There is in every town of 
any considerable size a large self-supporting popu- 
lation ; yet they are obliged to toil early and late, 
with little time to read or think, except in their 
daily round of duties. The monotony of this life 
engenders impatience and irritability ; this is trans- 
mitted by mother to child ; and this continued 
drudging has a tendency to degradation. 

If these working-women knew they could of an 
afternoon or evening go to a reading-room, and 
have the opportunities their husbands have in re- 
newing their thoughts and lives, by coming in con- 
tact with other minds, it would add a dignity to 
their lives. They would toil more cheerfully, their 
cares would sit lightly, knowing that somebody 
cares for them. There are many women starving 
for ideas, who could be made much more useful 
members of society, and much better mothers by 
this means. Books and papers out of use in the 
homes of the wealthy can be gathered to start a 



14 PREFACE. 

library, and great good accomplished with com- 
paratively little expense. 

The pleasures of a useful activity well repay 
those who are at a loss how to employ their time. 

" We have done those things which we ought not 
to have done, and left undone those things which 
we ought to have done, and there is no health in 
us *'; these are words applicable to many women 
and girls of the present day. 

Young people are careless of longevity ; but " how 
precious are added years to the fullness of a healthy 
intellectual and Christian life." 

How beautiful to grow old like Humboldt or 
Madame de Stael ; like Ristori or Charlotte Cush- 
man ; to grow, as a recent writer expresses it, '' like 
a wedge of gold — the thin edge beginning at birth, 
and ever widening until death.'' 

Bodily activity can not be preserved but by a 
vigorous effort of the will. Unless the muscles 
and limbs are in constant use, they soon stiffen into 
uselessness ; or if they share the experience of 
many in this latitude, will stiffen into rheumatism. 
Women are too much indoors. The air is full of 
life. It is necessary to live in it for hundreds and 
thousands of hours every year to make sure of its 
full benefits. It takes time to renovate the blood, 
and get the full health and vigor it has in store for 
us. We must go out often, and stay a long time. 
Persons who go out in all sorts of weather are 
rarely sick. Alexander Humboldt was delicate in 



PREFACE. 15 

youth, but having an insatiable desire for great en- 
terprises, exposed himself to all varieties of climate 
for the sake of being able to bear the fatigues of 
those wonderful explorations which have made his 
name famous the world over. 

We are apt to forget that strength and activity- 
enrich everything we do ; even our thoughts are 
deeper and clearer, and we can accomplish much 
more, in intellectual as well as physical labor, by 
being physically sound. It would be a good thing 
for the young to know what an enormous amount 
of labor nature has set upon high accomplishment 
in everything really worth pursuing. Instead of 
studying many branches, and half learning all, 
would it not be wiser to make selections, in cases 
where the time is limited, and learn thoroughly 
those selected ? 

Mrs. E. G. Cook, M.D. 
Aberdeen Hotel, ) 

2is^ Street and Broadway, Y 
New York, December, 1883. ) 



CHAPTER I. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

Prof. Tyndall recently said that '' It would be 
a great thing in this land of incalculable destinies, 
to supplement its achievements in the arts and 
sciences by turning attention to mankind itself, 
believing it would make man healthier, stronger, 
and purer. The dynamic element of brain is more 
needed than anything else in the breeding and 
training of children. Original research in this 
branch of science is more necessary than any and 
all others put together." The vital center of edu- 
cation is self-knowledge. The prevailing ignorance 
in regard to physiology, anatomy, and hygiene is 
truly appalling. Many educated people, who are 
conversant with many languages, living and dead, 
and all the kings of the old world, and dates of 
their administration, do not even suspect the nature 
of the processes of respiration and of digestion 
every moment going on in their own bodies. 

Even men of general science, who have planned 
great inventions, and understand all machinery of 

(17) 



I8 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

man's devising, know little of the most wonderful 
of all machines, the human body. If these scien- 
tific minds, which should be our teachers, know so 
little, what shall be said of the millions of farmers, 
mechanics, and laborers, the solid yeomanry of the 
land, on whose virtue and intelligence the welfare 
of the republic must ever depend ? If, as in times 
past, when we were young, these studies were inac- 
cessible, there would be some excuse for ignorance ; 
but the sciences necessary for an intelligent under- 
standing of these subjects have been brought to us 
in such simplicity that all, who will, may under- 
stand them. 

Since 1776 chemistry has been almost created, 
and electricity has been revealed to man in its 
effects, if not in its nature. It serves him as his 
fleetest messenger through the air, and under the 
sea — copies his works of art, illuminates his habi- 
tations, and heals his diseases. Electricity being 
the finest substance in our bodies, is the first to 
become affected by disease. It is through this 
agency that some people have second sight, or be- 
come clairvoyant. The emotions of love, joy, and 
hope augment, while those of fear,' revenge, or 
hatred diminish the electricity circulating in our 
bodies. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 19 

When we consider the marvelous scientific prog- 
ress of the last half century, and contemplate the 
wonderful possibilities of the fifty years to come, 
and for which we have but laid the foundation, it 
ought to stimulate us to have the fruit of these 
coming years appear in the better development of 
our physical, and consequently of our mental and 
moral, natures. As physicians are the ones quali- 
fied to instruct on these subjects, it is their duty to 
see that in our schools, and all institutions of learn- 
ing, hygiene is on the same footing with the lan- 
guages, mathematics, and all other departments of 
learning. It should be made equally binding with 
all recognized studies in a course. The people have 
a right to look to those whose lives are devoted to 
this work to teach them what 'they ought to know. 
We have no right to withhold knowledge which will 
benefit the race or individuals. A miser of knowl- 
edge is worse than a miser of money. 

All should understand that a secret in medicine 
is fraud and quackery of the rankest kind ; and all 
persons, whether physicians or not, who have some- 
thing wonderful, which can only be revealed on the 
payment of a price, are not to be trusted a moment. 
The various nostrums which flood the country are 
of this character, and w^ere made to sell and fill the 



20 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

pockets of the compounder. That there are cures 
sometimes may be true, but it is probably in cases 
where medicine has been used, and the faith with 
which the new remedy has been taken may give 
nature rest and sufficient impetus to repair the 
health. Instead of thanking the God of nature who 
has restored such, they extol some ignoramus, who 
often is too ignorant to write his own name. 

The noblest part of our mission is not to cure, 
but to prevent disease ; and to do this, a knowledge 
of the human body must be diffused throughout all 
classes of society. 

Men say, with too much reason, ^^ Woman is 
fickle.*' The world's record, however, shows many 
who have raised families well, and all along their 
lives maintained a growth in one or more of the 
sciences. It is true that most women underrate 
their power and ability to engage in the many and 
varied reforms which are needed to make a pure 
society — a society in which children can be born, 
and grow to the full stature of men and women, 
mentally, morally, and physically. It is not the 
want of native power, nor the want of opportunity, 
nor the prejudice or opposition of men, that lie in 
their way ; but the need of disciplining their own 
faculties to special purposes. If the faculties are 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 21 

educated, and receive the high culture of which 
they are capable, they will, like physical traits and 
characteristics, take on a more perfect growth in 
our children, giving them organizations susceptible 
of still higher development and polish. The apostle 
may have had reference to this when he said there 
was a diversity of gifts. A gift is a faculty trained 
to a special purpose. Men and boys have been 
educated for special callings many years ; such 
education should receive for them still more atten- 
tion, and just as much for women and girls. The 
women who are devoting themselves to the cause 
of women might, perhaps, do it more good if they 
lectured men less, and trained themselves and 
daughters more. 

If mothers are ignorant of physical laws, dwarfed 
in all the features of their mental and spiritual 
beauty, how can they educate, refine, and lead their 
children to the highest attainments of which they 
are capable ? 

" Woman is measured in proportion as her whole 
nature grows,** and understanding the arts and*sci- 
ences does not unfit her for any of the relations of 
life. ^^ Thought and culture are required to com- 
pass the fullness and sweetness of ever^^ human 
affection." This is emphatically the time to train the 



22 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

woman of the coming generation, and fit her for 
the largest use of her faculties. We have been 
carried by public opinion, in spite of ourselves, to 
the verge of many reforms which embrace the 
necessities of humanity. 

Our neighbors across the sea are in advance of 
us in some things. Governesses and teachers can 
not get employment there, unless they are espec- 
ially trained for their calling, and have received 
diplomas. The universities of all important nations 
are now open to woman, and she receives degrees 
in medicine and law, and is working in harmony 
with men in teaching these sciences. There is a 
natural fitness in woman for initiating the reforms 
so much needed. It is eminently one of her rights. 
Elizabeth Blackwell says, that, as physicians, women 
have greater interest in their patients than in dis- 
ease, and this leads them to study the means of 
guarding against sickness, as well as curing it. Men, 
on the other hand, lean toward the scientific. aspect 
of disease, and seldom look beyond the cure, or 
alleviation of present suffering. In consequence 
of the absence of the feminine element in the medi- 
cal profession, the subject of hygiene has been 
greatly neglected. The interest of medical men, 
and the public generally, in sanitary matters for 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 23 

the past thirty years — an interest greater than at 
any previous period of the world's history — is owing 
to the impulse given it by Florence Nightingale, at 
the time of the Crimean war. Since that time a 
whole literature of sanitary reform and sanitary 
science has sprung into existence, and the subject 
is receiving more and more attention, as the years 
go by, in all civilized countries of the globe. It is 
never again likely to be disregarded or neglected. 

One of the best signs of a purer society is the 
increasing attention given to the laws of health. 
Bad health is often sinful. People get sick and ask 
God for resignation, when they ought to pray to be 
forgiven for being sick. There are hereditary dis- 
eases and many others, which no amount of pru- 
dence of forethought could avert, but very many 
are the direct result of ignorance of, or violation of, 
physical laws. 

Physical culture holds a high place in the estima- 
tion of those who believe in sanctification, as very 
few persons can live exemplary Christian lives with 
dyspepsia and the ills which accompany it. Doc- 
tors should teach the people how not to get sick, 
and disease will lessen to an astonishing degree. 

There is such a mighty power in fashion that it 
almost hedges up the way to any permanent reform, 



24 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

and unless women of education and good sense 
take hold of this work in earnest, the American 
nation must soon die out, and the German, Irish, 
and Chinese will inherit our fair land. Not one 
woman in a hundred dresses herself and her daugh- 
ters according to the laws of health. Men and 
boys will not wear tight clothes. If girls could 
be as healthfully dressed as boys until maturity, 
we might hope to again see them resembling 
those -who brightened the old New England fire- 
sides a century ago ; girls who could spin and 
weave, wash and iron, harness a horse and drive 
him, as well as read innumerable books, paint, em- 
broider, braid straw, as well as cut and make all the 
clothing the family wore. Girls then thought 
nothing of walking five miles to see a friend or to 
attend church. 

The Chinese compress the feet of their female 
children to prevent their growth, so that the feet 
of a Chinese belle are no larger than those of an 
American girl of five years. The American women 
compress the waist, so that the waist of an Ameri- 
can belle is no larger than that of a Chinese girl of 
five years. Which nation has the greater intelli- 
gence ? 

The beautiful statues of ancient sculptors bear 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 2$ 

little resemblance to American ideas of an elegant 
form. If husbands of the fashionably dressed 
women were obliged to tie as heavy clothing about 
their hips, breathe in the closely-fitting stays, walk 
in the tight and toppling shoes, and undertake to 
carry on the business of life, they would have a 
foretaste of woman's self-imposed wrongs ; and if I 
am not mistaken the pulpit and the press through- 
out the land would ring with notes of warning 
and fears, not only for this, but for future gen- 
erations. 

It would cure mothers of the idea that the arms 
and legs of young children need no clothing, if for 
one winter they would put themselves in their 
children's places. The fact that less heat is gen- 
erated in the body during the evening than in the 
day is not understood by those who shiver over a 
register by day, and attend parties with shoulders 
and arms uncovered by night. 

Many persons think they can not partake of the 
food best adapted to the wants of the body, but 
such only as gratifies the palate ; a little persever- 
ance in eating properly will convince such that the 
appetite and taste are easily educated. Death from 
starvation has never occurred, either among grov/n 
people or children, from obeying the laws of hy- 



26 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

giene. Troublesome symptoms sometimes occur, 
needing all the strength and firmness of the human 
will to conquer, but always yield before danger 
need be apprehended. 

If sickness comes, attention to symptoms early 
often saves protracted illness. All should under- 
stand how to adjust the conditions to favor the 
most speedy return to health. The young should 
be taught to take good care of the sick, and them- 
selves in the meantime. 

There would be less danger of taking cold, or of 
contracting disease, if the pores of the skin were 
kept free by a frequent sponge bath. 

The Americans have labored beyond their 
strength to build this great and powerful nation ; as 
a result there is a deterioration in the health of 
their children. No other country so much abounds in 
consumption, dyspepsia, and insanity as the United 
States. Dyspepsia is a national disease, and almost 
unheard of in France and other transatlantic coun- 
tries. American women are famous for being 
beautiful, but delicate, and incapable of physical 
labor. The early and persistent training of the 
minds of American girls has weakened the body, 
and foreigners remark that ^' American women do 
not last." In Europe women are considered in the 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 2/ 

prime of their vigor and beauty at fifty and sixty 
years of age. In America, at the same age, they 
are prematurely old. An eminent divine recently 
said that the saddest sight which greeted his eyes 
was the upturned faces of women past middle life 
in his congregation. 

Could Raphael or Rubens find models in 
America for their grand paintings? We think it 
were much easier to find martyrs to the schools, 
and to the fashions. If women would adopt the im- 
proved modes of dress, and we could have a system 
of schools where the training of the muscles goes 
hand in hand with brain culture, and food selected 
with reference to the requirements of the body, the 
next generation would be as far in advance of this 
in well-developed, well-balanced, and healthy bodies 
as is this wonderful age in advance of the past in 
art, enterprise, and scientific discovery. 

We might well imitate the Greeks, who gave 
prizes for excelling in beauty ; among them a man 
might become celebrated for the perfection of his 
eyebrows. The beautiful proportions of Aspasia 
were transferred to the statue of a goddess. 

Some of my readers may ask, how are the girls of 
this age to educate the muscles, and imitate by 
our modes of development the beautiful forms of 



28 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

the women of ancient Greece? This, considering 
the way society views the subject of muscular de- 
velopment, is not easy to answer. When we see 
what the world calls a polished gentleman or lady, 
with no constraint or thought in regard to their 
movements, we know the muscles have been edu- 
cated, that each fiber "of which they are composed 
has undergone rigid discipline. We also know that 
this education began early, when the bones were 
cartilaginous ; they can then be more easily brought 
under control of the will. Even at my age, I can 
not deny a fondness for dancing. 

Without early education, the muscles are unable 
to stand the demands made upon them, the health 
suffers, and the life which seemed so full of joy goes 
out like a meteor, or lives disappointed and unsat- 
isfied. 

If the dullness and fatigue of school-hours could 
be broken once at least in each session by the in- 
spiring sound of music, the little feet which can 
hardly refrain from stepping the time should be en- 
couraged to march through its measures, then the 
monotony of school would be relieved, the tired 
heads would cease to ache, because the blood which 
rushes to the brain would be distributed to the 
skin and muscles. The languid expression, the 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 29 

dull eye, and stooping form would change as if by 
magic, and animation, ambition, and inspiration 
would take possession. 

We hope to live to see attached to every school. 
house in the land not only a commodious hall for 
gymnastic exercise, but a carpenter, a blacksmith, 
and a cooper shop — a place where boys can learn 
the first principles of useful labor; also a place 
where girls, as of old, can learn to cook, knit, and 
sew, and the first principles of dress and cloak 
making. 

To all seminaries a kitchen should be attached, 
where each inmate could at least learn to make 
good bread and to cook a good meal before she 
graduates. There is scarcely a young person 
among us who has been (so called) thoroughly 
educated, who is not more or less crippled for life 
in some of his or her organs. The education is one- 
sided. People should learn that the work neces- 
sary to bring about this great and important change 
does not belong to the doctors alone, but depends 
upon the personal efforts of each individual. These 
efforts must be persevering and persistent. 

Farmers who desire to have beautiful and healthy 
stock, ajdjust the conditions to favor this end, and 
take care of the colts, calves, and lambs. They do 



30 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

not trust to nature to shelter and feed them, but 
faithfully carry out all the plans which help to 
make a beautiful and healthy growth. When they 
discuss means to promote this end, why do they 
not devise means to improve the human race as 
well? 

It is but a few years comparatively since on the 
whole earth there was not an apple except the 
gnarly little crab ; now there are between three and 
four hundred varieties of this beautiful and luscious 
fruit. The sweet-brier is the mother of all our beau- 
tiful roses. The wild plum, which can not be eaten, 
has been developed into a most palatable fruit by 
cultivation. The bitter almond is the mother of 
the great variety of peaches, which, in their lus- 
ciousness, would never remind us of its ancestor. 
And so it is with everything in nature, over which 
God has placed man, with power almost unlimited 
to beautify, fashion, and create. 

We need strong mothers, who esteem it a privi- 
lege to raise healthy children. Much more depends 
upon them than upon fathers, as the laws of sym- 
pathy and transmission of qualities make them re- 
sponsible, more than any moital can estimate, for 
perfect and healthy children. These facts should 



THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. 3 1 

lead to more thoughtfulness, and an entire change 
in the manner of bringing up children. 

There seem to be signs of awakening among 
medical journals and teachers in high-schools and 
colleges. They are calling for better material to 
educate. They would turn out a mucH stronger 
mental, moral, and physical growth had they bet- 
ter quality of brain for ideas and thoughts to grow 
in. There are many failures every year because of 
a lack of common-sense. This can be found in per- 
fection only in a healthy body. 




Fig. i.—Thb Osseous System. 



CHAPTER II. 

BONE. 

Bone is the hardest structure of the body. Its 
color, when first removed from the living body, is 
of a pinkish hue outside, and deep red within. It 
is composed of two kinds of tissue, one hard like 
ivory, the other of slender fibers called cancellous, 
from its resemblance to lattice-work. It consists 
of animal and earthy matter combined ; the animal 
portion giving elasticity and toughness, the earthy 
hardness and solidity. The animal matter may be 
separated from the earthy by steeping bone in 
dilute sulphuric or nitric acid, by which the earthy 
matter is gradually dissolved, leaving a tough, 
semi-transparent substance, retaining in every re- 
spect the form of bone. This is softer and more 
flexible than cartilage. The earthy portion may be 
obtained by burning the bone ; the animal matter 
will be entirely consumed, the earthy part will re- 
main as a white, brittle substance, still preserving 
the original shape of the bone. Both constituents 

have the singular propensity of remaining unaltered 
2* (33) 



34 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

for centuries. In aged people the earthy or hard 
matter predominates, and for this reason old per- 
sons should be very careful in all their movements, 
as their bones are more easily broken than those of 
children, in which the animal matter is in excess. 
The bones of the latter are more apt to be bent 
than broken by injuries. 

For classification the bones are divided into long, 
short, flat, and irregular. The long bones are 
found in the limbs, where they form a system of 
levers, which sustain the weight of the body and 
confer power of locomotion. Where the part is 
intended for strength, and the motion slight, it is 
divided into a number of small pieces and united 
by ligaments, as in the bones of the hand and foot. 
The flat bones are used for protection, as seen in 
the skull and shoulder-blade. These consist of two 
layers, and a variable body of cancellous tissue be- 
tween them. In the head these bones are known 
as the tables of the skull ; the outer one thick and 
tough, the inner one thin and brittle, thus preserv- 
ing the brain from the shock of falls and jars. 

The irregular bones are those which can not from 
their structure be grouped under the preceding 
heads. They are the bones of the spinal column, 
etc. The elevations and depressions upon the 



BONE. 35 

bones are for the attachment of muscles, and ar- 
ticulation with each other. The small bones are 
supplied with capillaries filled with blood, and the 
large ones contain a net-work of blood-vessels and 
marrow. These blood-vessels often pierce the wall 
of the bone, and communicate with the periosteum 
(the membrane which surrounds the bone), to 
which all the muscles are attached. If the flesh is 
boiled sufficiently to fall off, a great number of 
these can be seen with the naked eye, and thou- 
sands with the aid of a microscope. 

There are little grooves on the inner surface of 
the bones of the head, in which lie veins, carrying 
from the brain the impure blood, and when, from 
obstructed pores of the skin, cold or other disturb- 
ances these impurities are retarded in their exit, the 
vessels become engorged, and pain in the head, diz- 
ziness, etc., is the result. As the blood-vessels are 
the only way of escape for the waste matter in the 
brain, it is all-important that they be not crowded 
with more than their own work. 

Nerves are distributed freely to the periosteum, 
and accompany the nutritious arteries into the in- 
terior of the bone. This periosteum is as neces- 
sary to the health and growth of bone, as is the 
skin to the body, as it contains the blood-vessels 



36 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

which supply the bones with nourishment. One 
can distinguish young meat from old by the color 
of the marrow ; the young has a reddish tint, the 
old a yellowish. 

The cavities of the long bones are also lined with 
a membrane, through which the blood-vessels pass 
to nourish the bone and marrow. The cranium 
and spinal column are first developed in the foetus, 
to which all other parts of the skeleton are by de- 
grees appended, making the frame for holding to- 
gether the soft parts of the body. 

At a very early period in embryonic life the parts 
destined to become bone appear like cartilage, in 
exact imitation of the bone, which in due time is 
to take its place. 

Ossification commences at certain points in the 
interior of the cartilage, from which it extends to 
surrounding substance, and not until the child is 
twelve years old are all the bones of the body har- 
dened or ossified. The diet of the mother may re- 
tard ossification in the foetus, adding much to the 
safety and comfort of the mother during parturi- 
tion. 

The entire skeleton consists of two hundred and 
four bones. The spinal column is composed of 
thirty-three, each one called a vertebra. Each ver- 



BONE. 



tebra has seven projections, four of 
which are used to bind the bones 
together, and are called articulating 
processes ; the other three, one on 
either side, and one on the back, 
are for the attachment of muscles. j 

Between the vertebra is a peculiar / 
and highly elastic substance called / 
cartilage, which facilitates the move- / 
ments of the back. This compres- / 
sible cushion of cartilage serves the \ 
important purpose of diffusing and \ 
diminishing the shock of walking, \ 
running, and leaping, and protects \ 
the .delicate structure of the brain ; \ 
another protection is the forward 
and backward curve of the spinal 
column ; a striking proof of the 
wisdom of our Creator. Were it 
a straight andperpendicular column 
the slightest jar in walking would 
cause it to recoil with a jerk, 
because the weight, bearing equally 
would not yield to either side ; 
shaped as it is, it easily yields in 
the direction of its curves. 

If a stooping position, or a 
lateral curved position be con- Fig. 2.— Spinal 



/s 



Column. 



38 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

tinued for a long time, the spine does not easily 
recover its proper position. The compressed 
edges of the cartilage lose the power of reaction, 
and one side becomes thickened, and these wedge- 
shaped cartilages produce a permanent curv- 
ature. In a similar manner the student, seamstress, 
artisan, and mechanic acquire a stooping position 
by inclining forward to bring their work nearer to 
the eyes. Pupils in writing at a high desk, with 
one shoulder elevated and one depressed, give the 
shape of the letter G to the spine, which position 
can not be taken if the rules for education here 
taught are observed. 

In these deformities the right shoulder projects 
more frequently than the left. This arises from 
the greater use of the right shoulder. Not infre- 
quently the oblique position is assumed in the per- 
formance of daily duties. 

The loss of height and symmetry is of far less 
importance than the chest deformity, which always 
occurs, inducing disease of the lungs and heart. 
A startling fact, yet we must accept it. Emi- 
nent physicians, both in this country and the old, 
state that not one female in ten (I will add, a 
thousand), fashionably educated, is free from de- 
formity of the shoulders or spinal column. Teach- 



BONE. 39 

ers, as well as mothers, should notice the position 
of the child while performing the task allotted to it. 
The feebler the child the more frequently should 
there be a change of position. To correct a slight 
projection of the shoulder, the child should be 
made to walk one-half hour daily, with a book, or 
som.ething heavier, on the head, to balance which 
the spinal column must be erect. People who 
carry burdens upon their heads seldom have a 
crooked spine. Persons from the North are sur- 
prised, when traveling in the Southern States, to 
see the heavy burdens the porters carry on their 
heads. They will walk at a rapid pace, with a 
trunk weighing from fifty to eighty pounds upon 
their heads. This is the easiest way to carry a 
load. Germans and Italians have found it out. 

The pelvis is composed of four bones, viz. : the 
two innominata, the sacrum, and the coccyx. The 
innominata in the child consists of three pieces ; 
these in the adult unite and form one bone. In 
the sides of these bones is a deep socket, like a 
cup, in which the round head of the thigh bone 
articulates. It is bound there by ligaments, as is 
the sacrum, whose upper surface connects with the 
lower vertebra. There is a difference in the male 
and female pelvis. In the male the bones are 



40 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

thicker and stronger, and the- muscular eminences 
and impressions on their surfaces more strongly 
marked. The male pelvis is altogether more mas- 
sive, its cavity deeper and narrower. In the female 
the bones are lighter and more expanded. The 
muscular impressions on their surfaces are only 
slightly marked, and the pelvis, generally, is less 
massive in structure. The iliac fossa are broad, 
and the spines widely separated ; hence the great 
prominence of the hips. The inlet and outlet are 
larger, the cavity more capacious, and the spines of 
the ischia project less into it. The promontory is 
less projecting, the sacrum wider and less curved, 
and the coccyx more movable. The arch of the 
pubes is wider, and the edges more everted. 

The thorax is formed by the sternum in front, 
the ribs at the sides, and twelve dorsal bones at 
the back. The natural form of the chest is a cone, 
with its apex above, as seen in Fig. 3 ; but fashion 
has in many instances nearly inverted this order. 
This cavity contains the lungs, heart, and large 
blood-vessels. Compression of these organs, how- 
ever slight, can not fail to weaken them, and conse- 
quently to shorten life. 

The clavicle, or collar bone, is shaped like the 
letter f ; its use is to keep the arms from sliding 



BONE. 41 

toward the breast. It is attached to the sternum 
in front, and to the scapula, or shoulder-blade, at 
its other extremity. This latter bone lies upon the 
upper and back part of the chest, and is held in 




Fig. 3.-— The Thorax. 

1. The manubrium (wpper portion of the sternum). 2. Its bo dy (middle 
portion). 3. Its ensiform cartilage (lower portion). 4. First dorsal vertebra. 
5. Last dorsal vertebra. 6. First rib. 7. Head of first rib. 8. Its neck. 9. Its 
tubercle. 10. Seventh rib. 11. Costal cartilages of the ribs. 12. Last two 
false ribs. 13. The groove along the lower border of each rib. 

position by muscles ; by their contraction it can be 
lifted at will. 

The hand in its wonderful adaptation to all the 
offices of life, is one cause of man's superiority 
over the brute creation. 



42 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

The bones of the foot are so united as to give it 
the form of an arch, which conduces to the elastic- 
ity of the step. The mode of having too high heels, 
and their being placed nearly in the middle of the 
shoe, gives a toppling gait, which is insecure, and 
tends to weaken the muscles of the foot and leg, 
and have been known to produce curvature of the 
spine. 

The bones increase in size and strength by use, 
while they are weakened by inaction. The gelat- 
inous bones of children are not so well adapted for 
labor and severe exercise as those of the adult. 
They become easily crooked, and their beauty and 
strength impaired for life. On the other hand, mod- 
erate and regular labor and exercise favor a healthy 
development of bone. The imperfectly developed 
bones of the child will not bear long-continued ex- 
ertion or position without injury. A child under 
twelve years of age should never remain in one po- 
sition longer than half an hour, and should never sit 
without its feet supported, as it tends to produce 
round shoulders, if long continued. The erect po- 
sition should positively be enforced while sitting. 
Leaning on tables with shoulder-blades elevated, 
or with one arm, as in writing, will tend to curve 
the spine. 



BONE. 43 

Only one word more, and I will dismiss the dry 
(to some) subject of the bony structure in which we 
live. 

If the gelatine predominates, the bone is weak 
and becomes distorted. When nutrition is defect- 
ive in the round bones, the heads are generally 
enlarged, and the shafts crooked ; this disease is 
generally known as rickets. The first appearance 
of these symptoms should receive attention, as, if 
left to make considerable progress, it is very diffi- 
cult to cure. 

If a bone is broken some days elapse before the 
substance which reunites it, is thrown out from the 
blood. When the bone is uniting, the attention of 
the surgeon is more needed than during the first 
week. When the swelling and pain abate, the pa- 
tient many times intimates to the surgeon that his 
further services are not needed, as the limb is doing 
well ; but unless the ends are nicely adjusted and 
properly dressed, the person will find on recovery 
a shortened or crooked limb. The surgeon is then 
censured, w^hen he is not to blame. 

It would seem, that if a portion of bone were re- 
moved by injury or disease, as is often the case, 
nature could not replace it ; such is not the fact, how 
ever. A case came under my observation lately, in a 



44 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

scrofulous patient, where the humerus became dis- 
eased to that degree that its removal only could 
save the boy's life. Decay had gone on so far that 
the bone crumbled in the surgeon's hand ; but in a 
remarkably short time nature put in a new one, 
and the boy is well to-day. 

In compound or comminuted fractures new de- 
posits attach to the broken ends, and approach each 
other until they meet. 

Bones become brittle in proportion as the car- 
tilaginous part decreases ; sometimes in old age 
broken bones will not unite for want of it. 

I can not too strongly impress the importance of 
loose garments, and the right exercise and food for 
the bony structure of the body. Mothers can not 
be too watchful or know too much on this subject, 
as the health, beauty, and grace of movement, as 
well as the usefulness of children in after-life, all 
depend upon a healthy bony. framework; upon this 
the muscles are to attach themselves, forming a gar- 
ment of protection, as well as the moving power of 
the bones. 



CHAPTER III. 

MUSCLES. 

In the structure of the body there is a union of 
fluids and solids. These are essentially the same, 
for one is readily changed into the other. There 
is no fluid that does not contain solid matter in 
solution, and no solid matter that is destitute of 
fluid. In different individuals and at different pe- 
riods of life the proportion of fluids and solids va- 
ries. In youth the fluids are more abundant. For 
this reason the limbs of children are round and 
soft, while in old age they assume a hard and 
wrinkled appearance. I will say here that a care- 
ful attention to the laws of health will preserve, in 
a great measure, a youthful appearance of the mus- 
cles in the aged. 

The fluids not only contain the material from 

which every part of the body is made, but they are 

the medium of conveying the waste and decayed 

particles of matter from the system. They have 

various names, such as the blood, bile, etc., etc. 

(45) 



46 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

The solids are formed from the fluids, and can be 
chemically reduced to the same elements. The 
particles of matter in solids are arranged variously : 
some in fibers or threads, some in laminae or plates, 
etc. Thus we have in the body fibers, fasciculi, 
tissues, organs, apparatuses, and systems. 

A fiber is a thread of exceeding fineness, either 
round or flat. A fasciculus is several fibers united. 
Tissue is a name applied to several different solids 
of the body : as nerve tissue, cellular tissue, etc., 
etc. An organ is composed of tissues so arranged 
as to form an instrument designed for action ; the 
action is called function ; thus the function of the 
lungs is to breathe, of the liver to make bile from 
the blood, etc. An apparatus is an assemblage of 
organs designed to produce certain results ; for ex- 
ample, the digestive apparatus consists of teeth, 
stomach, liver, etc., all of which aid in the digestion 
of food. 

The term system is applied to an assemblage of 
organs arranged according to some plan, as the 
nervous system, the respiratory system. A tissue 
is a simple form of arranged animal substance ; it 
is flexible and formed of fibers interwoven in vari- 
ous ways, as cellular or muscular tissue. Although 
all the organs are so varied in their structure, they 



MUSCLES. 47 

can be reduced to a few tissues, viz., cellular, mus- 
cular, osseous, mucous, and nervous. The cellular 
tissue consists of small fibers or cylinders, varying 
from .0003 to .0008 of a line in diameter, inter- 
woven so as to form a net-work, with openings 
which communicate freely with each other. These 
openings or cavities are filled during life with a fluid 
resembling the serum of the blood. It is a watery- 
looking substance, and this membrane is used to 
cover, protect, lubricate, and bind together, as well 
as to separate the vessels, nerves, and organs. 
When this watery fluid becomes too great in quan- 
tity by disease, the patient has dropsy. The swell- 
ing of the feet when standing, and their return to 
proper shape during the night, teaches us that there 
is direct communication throughout all parts of the 
body. This free communication between the cells 
is still more remarkable in regard to air. Some- 
times an accidental opening has been made from 
the air-cells of the lungs into the contiguous cellu- 
lar tissue ; the air has penetrated to every part of 
the body and produced suffocation. Butchers some- 
times avail themselves of this knowledge and in- 
flate their meat, giving it a plump appearance, but 
it shrinks in boiling. Although this tissue enters 
into the composition of all organs of the body, it 



48 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

never loses its own structure or participates in the 
functions of the organ of which it takes a part. 

The serous tissue lines all closed or sac-like cavi- 
ties of the body, as the chest, joints, and abdomen. 
It not only lines them, but is reflected and covers 
the organs contained in them. Thus the liver, 
lungs, and bowels are lined or covered with this 
smooth, moist membrane, which is kept moist by 
its power to secrete from the blood, and prevents 
them from adhering. The elements of this cellular 
or combining tissue, in whatever part of the body 
it occurs, are long, fine cylinders, varying from 
T^u'o to "soVij- of a line in diameter, and lying in 
close apposition. They are firm and elastic. When 
boiled they at first become harder and more rigid, 
but afterward soften and dissolve into gelatine. If 
you will watch a piece of meat put into boiling 
water, you will see that at first it shrinks and hard-^ 
ens, and continued boiling or simmering is required 
to make it digestible. 

The dermoid tissue is the skin, and the mucous 
membrane is a continuation of it at the various 
orifices of the body. The close sympathy between 
the skin and mucous membrane is remarkable and 
deserves special attention. If the insensible per- 
spiration is checked and a chill follows, you may 



MUSCLES. 49 

very soon feel catarrh, or diarrhoea, or an affec- 
tion of some part of this membrane in the body. 
By exciting again a free action of the skin these 
disturbances cease. 

A diseased mucous membrane of the stomach or 
bowels will sometimes produce an eruption of the 
skin. Chronic roughness of the skin is often noth- 
ing but disease of the stomach, indigestion, catarrh, 
or some chronic affection of this membrane. 

Fibrous tissue consists of longitudinal fibers par- 
allel to each other and closely united. They some- 
times form a strong membrane, thin and dense, like 
that lining the internal surface of the skull and the 
surface of the bones. In others they form strong 
inelastic bands called ligaments, binding one bone 
to another. This tissue also forms the white cords 
or tendons which attach the muscles to the bones. 
In rheumatism the fibrous tissue is the part princi- 
pally affected ; hence the joints where it is most 
abundant suffer most. 

The adipose tissue is so arranged as to form bags 
or cells ; these contain fat. It is found beneath the 
skin in the abdominal muscles and around the 
heart and kidneys. There are none in the brain, 
eye, nose, ear, and several other organs. Some- 
times a fat cell accumulates and becomes larger 
3 



50 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

than the surrounding ones, and tumor is sus* 
pected. 

The cartilaginous tissue is firm, smooth, and 
highly elastic ; except bone, it is the hardest part 
of the animal economy. It tips the ends of bone 
that concur in forming a joint, to prevent concus- 
sion. It facilitates the motions of joints by its 
smooth surface, and saves the shock to the various 
bones of the body in rapid movement. Between 
each vertebra of .the spine this cartilage forms an 
elastic cushion, which, while it facilitates move- 
ments in all directions, saves the shock to the brain 
which sudden movements, would bring. It is com- 
pressible, and children sitting in a stooping position 
long at a time, cause one edge to grow thin while 
the other increases in thickness, making the round 
shoulders which deform so many. We can not too 
strongly insist on an upright position in sitting, for 
children as well as for people of sedentary habits. 
Various opinions exist among physiologists in re- 
gard to the marrow. Some suppose it to be a res- 
ervoir of nutriment for the bone, others that it 
keeps it from becoming dry and brittle. It is still 
a question among the most advanced in physiolog- 
ical science what the function of this substance is. 

The muscular tissue is composed of many fibers 



MUSCLES. 51 

or threads, which unite and form fasciculi, each one 
of which is inclosed in a delicate sheath of cellular 
tissue. Bundles of these fasciculi constitute a mus- 
cle. A piece of boiled beef will illustrate the ar- 
rangement of muscular fiber. 

The mucous tissue differs from the cellular by its 
lining all the cavities which communicate with the 
air ; for example, the nostrils, mouth, and stomach. 
It is always kept moist by a viscid fluid secreted 
from the blood ; hence the need of good blood. If 
these cells become inflamed from cold, a chill, or 
inattention to the skin, unless soon relieved, ulcer- 
ation follows, and pus will be secreted instead of 
the natural lubrication, and in greater quantity. 
Catarrh is an example. Some of the mucous mem- 
branes are hard to heal on account of their struct- 
ure. This mucous membrane is constantly un- 
dergoing renewal. The old layers are falling off 
and new ones produced. In the pulmonary and 
intestinal mucous membrane mucus is secreted to 
shield the surfaces from the air, solids or liquids. 
But for this, inflammation would destroy sooner and 
surer than now. This covering, so little thought 
of or understood, is ordinarily an extremely thin 
layer, but if the membrane which it covers is in- 
flamed, it becomes thickened, and discharges quan- 



52 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

titles of mucus or pus which mix with the secre- 
tion of the organ. The thickness of this membrane 
closes the nostrils in a cold. Mucus is from this 
cause formed in the urine, in the lungs, and in 
stools. The importance of knowing how to care 
for the mucous membrane can not be overestimated. 
Catarrh, consumption, liver, kidney, and bowel dis- 
eases — in fact, nearly all the ills which afflict human- 
ity — come from neglected colds. 

The nervous tissue, which makes us feel and 
know all we do, is composed of soft, pulpy matter, 
inclosed in a sheath. It consists of two sub- 
stances — one pulpy and gray, the other fibrous and 
white. In every part of the nervous system both 
substances are united. All the great motions of 
the body are caused by the movement of some of 
the bones which form the framework of the system ; 
but these, independent of themselves, have no 
power of motion. They only change their posi- 
tions through the action of other organs attached 
to them. These moving, contracting organs are 
the muscles (lean meat). They constitute the great 
bulk of the body, by their size and number, and 
bestow beauty and symmetry of form. In the 
limbs they are situated around the bones, which 
they invest and defend, while they form the prin- 



MUSCLES. 53 

cipal protection of some of the joints. In the trunk 
they are spread out to inclose cavities, and con- 
stitute a defensive wall, capable of yielding to 
internal pressure, and again resuming its original 
state. In structure a muscle is composed of fasci- 
culi (bundles of fibers) of various size. These are 
inclosed in a cellular membrane, investment, or 
sheath. Every bundle is composed of a number of 
small fibers, and each fiber consists of a number of 
filaments, each of which is inclosed in a delicate 
sheath. Toward the extremity of the muscle the 
muscular fiber ceases, and the cellular structure, of 
which we have spoken, becomes aggregated, and so 
modified as to constitute tendons, by which the 
muscle is tied, or grows to the surface of the bone. 
This union is so firm that under extreme violence 
the bone will sooner break than permit the tendon 
to separate from its attachment. By examining a 
piece of boiled beef, or a leg of fowl, one can see 
the structure of a fiber and tendon of a muscle. 
In forming a muscle the fibers assume various ar- 
rangements. Sometimes they lie longitudinally, 
and terminate at each extremity in a tendon, the 
entire muscle being spindle-shaped. In other cases 
they are disposed like the rays of a fan, converging 
to a tendinous point, and constituting a radiate 



54 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

muscle. Again they are penniform, converging, 
like the plumes of a pen, to one side of a tendon 
which runs the whole length of the muscle ; or bi- 
penniform, converging to both sides of the tendon. 

Each fiber, however small, is supplied with ar- 
teries, veins, lymphatics, sensitive and motor nerves. 
Tendons are made of cellular tissue, and at the end 
of a muscle, spread out to form fascia, or aponeu- 
rosis. It is of various extent and thickness. An 
instance is seen in the membrane which envelops a 
leg of beef, and on the edges, when slices are cut 
for boiling. It forms, as I said before, distinct 
sheaths for all the muscles, and if injured is much 
harder to cure than a bone. This fascia helps the 
muscles to move, aids in the circulation of the 
Huids, etc. The interstices are filled with fat, and 
by its presence we all know that beauty is added 
to our bodies. Lean persons have as strong, and 
sometimes much stronger, muscles than fat ones, 
but are not as comely. When we are sick, and can 
not take food, the body is sustained by the absorp- 
tion of fat. The removal of it into the blood 
causes the hollow eye and sunken cheek after 
a sickness. The number of muscles in a body 
is more than five hundred, and in general they 
form about the skeleton two or more layers, some 



MUSCLES. 55 

deep, others superficial. Some of them are volun- 
tary in their motions, or act under the government 
of the will; others are involuntary, and act without 
the control of the individual, as the heart and respir- 
atory muscles. The abdominal muscles are expi- 
ratory, and are the chief agents for expelling the 
residuum from the rectum, the bile from the gall- 
bladder, and the contents of the stomach when 
vomiting. It is by their action, also, that irritating 
substances in the bronchial tubes and nose are ex- 
pelled by coughing and sneezing. To produce these 
effects they all act together. Their violent action 
sometimes produces hernia or breach. The con- 
traction and relaxation of the abdominal muscles 
and diaphragm stimulate the stomach, liver, and 
intestines to a healthy action, and help digestion. 
People troubled with constipation should under- 
stand this, and by rubbing and kneading the abdo- 
men help to overcome it. 

If the contractility of their muscular fiber is de- 
stroyed or impaired, the tone of the digestive appa- 
ratus will be diminished, and indigestion and consti- 
pation is the result. This is often followed by a 
displacement of those organs, as they naturally 
gravitate toward the lower portion of the abdom- 
inal cavity, when the sustaining muscles lose their 
tone, or become relaxed. 



S6 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

There are six layers of muscles on the back, all 
acting differently, or in different directions. The 
diaphragm, or midriff, is the muscular division be- 
tween the thorax, or chest, and the abdomen. It 
is penetrated by the sesophagus, on its way to the 
stomach, by the aorta in conveying blood to the 
lower extremities, and by the ascending vena on 
its way to the heart. The diaphragm may be com- 
pared to an inverted basin, its bottom being turned 
upward into the thorax, while its edge corresponds 
with the outline of the edges of the lower ribs and 
sternum. Its concavity is directed toward the ab- 
domen, and this cavity is very much enlarged, 
at the expense of that of the chest, which is di- 
minished to an equal extent. Free expansive move- 
ments should be given to every inspiration, and the 
clothing made so loose that in no case will it 
interfere with the largest measurement possible. 
These muscles, as well as those of the entire 
body, bear such intimate relations to our pleasures 
and enjoyments, all should possess a knowledge of 
their actions, and the conditions upon which their 
health depends. 

The contractile effects of the muscles, in produc- 
ing the varied movements of the body, may be seen 
in the bending of the elbow. The alternate relax- 



MUSCLES. 57 

ing and swelling of antagonistic muscles, in differ- 
ent movements of the limbs, can be felt. It is 
wonderful that every fiber of the several muscles 
receives from the brain, through the nervous fila- 
ments appropriated to it, a certain influence, called 
nervous influence or stimulus. It is this which in- 
duces contraction, and the removal of it causes 
relaxation. By this arrangement the action of the 
muscular system, both as regards duration and 
power, is, to a limited extent, under the control of 
the will. The more perfect the control, the more 
perfect the education of the muscular system, the 
more graceful and effective will be all our move- 
ments. 

The Divine Architect of this complicated ma- 
chine has wisely ordered that the muscles — upon 
which digestion, absorption, and circulation de- 
pend — should not be governed by our will ; they 
are involuntary in their movements. Breathing 
could not be performed while asleep if dependent 
upon our will. Could we behold the muscular 
fibers in operation, as a mechanical exhibition, 
nothing can be conceived more sublime than the 
intricate and combined action that must take place 
in our movements. Look at the eye of a person 
who is running or leaping — intense, rapid, and yet 
3* 



58 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



how accurate are the motions required. Think of 
the endurance of such a muscle as the heart, that can 
contract with a force equal to sixty pounds, seventy- 
five times every minute, for eighty years together, 




a. Left ventricle, b. Right ventricle, r, e^y. Aorta arising from the left 
ventricle, g. Arteria innominata. k. Left subclavian artery. /. Left carotid. 
k. Pulmonary artery. /, /. Its right and left branches, m^ m. Veins of the 
lungs, n. Right auricle, o. Ascending cava. q. Descending cava. r. Left 
auricle, s. Left coronary artery. P, Portal veins, which return the blood from 
the liver and bowels. 

without being weary. The muscles should be used 
in order that their size and strength may be equal 
to the demand made upon them. If not used, they 



MUSCLES. 59 

decrease in size and power. When in action, the 
flow of blood in the arteries and veins is increased ; 
this causes a more rapid deposition of nutritive 
particles of matter, of which the muscles are made ; 
and by judicious care — by this I mean exercise, 
without overdoing — the greatest power may be re- 
tained until old age. It is diminished in size and 
strength when exercise is continued so as to pro- 
duce exhaustion. Exercise,, either for profit or 
pleasure, may fatigue ; but it should never be pro- 
tracted to languor or exhaustion if the individual 
desires long life, or a '^ green old age." The mus- 
cles require pure blood, which can only be made 
when the digestive organs are in a healthy condi- 
tion, the skin healthy and clean, and a sufficient 
amount of clothing worn to keep the body warm. 
The ends of the ribs are cartilaginous, and can be 
compressed so as to displace the lungs and heart 
upward, and the stomach and liver downward, so 
that the entire viscera of the trunk is out of its 
natural order. This explains the necessity of wear- 
ing loose clothing ; unless the ribs and diaphragm 
act freely the lungs can not be supplied with pure 
air. The purer the air we breathe, the more stim- 
ulus the blood gets to carry to the muscles, which 
will cause them to endure exercise longer without 



6o 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



injury. A sick person can sit up longer in fresh 
air than in a close room. The Hght of the sun ex- 
ercises more or less influence upon man as well as 
on plants. Both require the life-giving stimulus of 
this agent. The exercise of invalids, if possible, 




Fig. 5. — Heart and Lungs. 

should be in the open air, and at regular intervals, 
and every muscle of the system should receive its 
share. If the invalid can not go out, the windows 
should be raised, the room cooled, and the person 
should walk, run, creep, or roll over until fatigue 
suggests the time to stop. 

I have spoken indirectly of compressing the chest. 



MUSCLES. 6l 

I feel that, unless mothers receive a different stim- 
ulus from that which now animates them, our next 
generation of women will be no stronger than this, 
and what to add that will induce them to act in 
this all-important matter is a grave question. At 
all times, and especially during exercise, should 
the muscles of the chest particularly have full ex- 
pansive power. When measured by a dress- 
maker take the fullest inspiration, and hold the 
breath until the measurement is completed, or 
have one meastire taken, and wait for another in- 
spiration. In ordinary waists which we see, one- 
half of the lungs is deprived of air in the morning, 
and not again filled until the clothing is removed at 
night, which generally brings a sigh of relief. Just 
in proportion as the lungs take carbonic acid from 
the blood, and add to it oxygen, is the health of 
the body increased or diminished. 

A constant supply of arterial blood is necessary 
to maintain muscular contractility. If for one mo- 
ment this food is taken from the heart, lungs, or 
brain, we die. If taken from any other muscle, it 
can not act. Thus we see the importance of freedom 
for the lungs, that every tiny cell may have room 
to open its mouth, so to speak, to the fullest extent, 
for this life, this oxygen, which is the life of the 
blood. 



62 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

The amount of muscular power developed in our 
bodies depends upon the amount of oxygen con- 
sumed by the lungs, just as the heat of our houses 
depends upon the quantity of fuel consumed. 

Muscles, though not dependent upon the nerves 
for their peculiar vital power, ^r^ dependent upon 
them for the exercise of that power. The stimulus 
which excites contraction operates first through the 
brain on the nervous filaments which enter the mus- 
cles, and through them on the muscular fibers. Mus- 
cular fibers, completely isolated from all connection 
with the body, may be seen to contract, under the 
microscope, by the influence of stimulus. This 
stimulus in the living body, in most cases, is the will, 
and emanates from the brain. A muscle in rapid mo- 
tion is heated by the oft-repeated contractions, more 
blood is forced into the vessels, and more nutrient 
cells deposited in consequence ; this is why muscles 
used are larger and stronger than those unused. 

It is said that electricity is developed during 
muscular contraction, which I believe. This ac- 
counts for the benefits of massage. A very little 
study and observation will teach any one who has 
health to use this power, and the more intelli- 
gent the individual, if healthy, the greater bene- 
fit can he confer on persons sick, or weaker than 



MUSCLES. 63 

himself. Let us see, then, that food of a proper 
kind is taken to give the necessary nutrition, and 
that every muscle in the body is exercised daily, and 
each woman begin to live intelligently, and redeem 
herself from the sin of being sickly, and free herself 
from the responsibility of making a generation of 
invalids. 

There is strength in habitual exercise, which 
can not be acquired by irregular or short inter- 
vals. It is easier to study all day, or sit all day 
at a desk writing, drawing, or painting, than to 
regulate the exact amount of exercise, each hour, 
which the body needs to make it most perfect. 
" We need this faith in exercise, the firm conviction 
of its necessity, which makes us go out in all wea- 
ther, and leave the most urgent intellectual labor 
for the mere discipline and hardening of the body.'' 
" The desire to concentrate good of various kinds 
into the smallest possible space is one of the com- 
monest of human wishes, but it is not encouraged 
by the broader economy of nature. In the exercise 
of the mind every teacher is aware that time is an 
essential factor. Even the fresh air itself requires 
time to renovate the blood. It can not be concen- 
trated ; and to breathe the prodigious quanti- 
ties of it which are needed for perfect energy we 



64 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

must be out in it frequently and long. Expos- 
ure is as much needed as exercise ; those persons 
who are out in all weather, as a rule, have the 
greatest vigor, and rarely have to consult a doctor. 
If the muscles are full of strength and vigor, the 
mind takes its share, and whatever is undertaken is 
better accomplished. It gives an inspiration and 
direction to our thoughts ; it leads to explorations, 
and discoveries which, with intellect only, we could 
never accomplish. 

Mothers and teachers rarely take into account 
the importance of educating the senses as well as 
the muscles. Those who are familiar with the 
writings of Madame de Stael will remember that 
to the sense of hearing most of her large attain- 
ments were due. '* Her ears were her providers, 
and she used her eyes so little, that she might al- 
most as well have been blind.'' She said that were 
it not for respect to custom she would not open 
her window to see the Bay of Naples for the first 
time, whereas she would travel five hundred leagues 
to talk with a clever man whom she had not seen. 
Others depend almost entirely upon what they see; 
they have different ways of looking at objects — 
while one person observes a beautiful tree, another 
will see only its shadow and the beautiful play of 



MUSCLES. 65 

light and shade among its branches. While one 
writes memories of what they hear, others make 
drawings to represent the objects or places they 
have seen. All the senses vary in different indi- 
viduals, and the one which seems to revel in exer- 
cise is the one which should be educated and exer- 
cised most. 

" The taste of fruits, the perfume of flowers, are 
a part of the means by which the spirit of nature 
influences our most secret thoughts and conveys to 
us suggestions, or carries us into states of feeling 
which have an enormous effect upon our thinking, 
though the manner in which the effect is produced 
is one of the deepest mysteries of our mysterious 
being.'* 

By knowing how to develop and care for the 
senses they can be preserved in all their freshness 
to old age. To accomplish this, excesses of all 
kinds must be avoided. We may know ^^ the ex- 
quisite taste of common dry bread, enjoy the per- 
fume of the distant woods, and feel delight when 
the gentlest zephyrs fan us. To cultivate and keep 
the power which well-trained muscles and nerves 
will give us, requires self-government and a firm- 
ness which is rare. 

"The gifts of God come to us not by asking for 
them, but by becoming fit to receive them." 



CHAPTER IV. 

VENTILATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HY- 
GIENE. 

It is believed by the best authorities that about 
forty per cent, of all deaths are due to the influence 
of impure air. The register of vital statistics of 
New York City gives nearly half its deaths from 
this cause. In one year alone in the city of Phila- 
delphia, said to be the healthiest in the United 
States, 6,868 deaths occur from impure air. Al- 
lowing twenty-five to thirty days of sickness to 
each, it gives 200,000 days of sickness annually as 
an effect of foul air. We can not estimate this loss 
in dollars and cents, to say nothing of the suffering. 

In this country and in Europe the authorities are 
awakening to the importance of this subject, and 
are expending immense sums of money for improv- 
ing the sanitary condition of its cities. Dr. Hutch- 
inson estimated the loss to the city of London, 
growing out of preventable deaths and sickness, at 
$20,000,000 annually ; and Mr. Mansfield estimates 

(66) 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE. 6/ 

the loss, from the same cause, to the United King- 
dom at $250,000,000. In the small State of Massa- 
chusetts the annual estimate exhibits a loss of $60,- 
000,000 by the premature death of persons over 
fifteen years of age. 

Consumption is the result in many cases of 
breathing impure air. In building houses, people 
have only considered warmth and light, and light 
in most instances does not receive the attention it 
ought. It requires a great deal of thought and the 
exercise of a high order of intellect to supply an 
abundance of pure air in otherwise tight houses. 
The external air all over the world is of an almost 
uniform purity; even in large cities this is re- 
markable, but in houses this is far different. Green- 
houses show no trace of carbonic acid. Plants ab- 
sorb that and give off oxygen. Animals absorb 
oxygen and give off carbonic acid. Therefore, 
plants in living rooms are healthy, and should be 
found in every spare window where the sun shines. 
They are good for the morals as well as the health. 
As a rule the external air does not contain the im- 
purities from which disease comes, but houses which 
are built for protection are in many cases converted 
into charnel-houses. Our own breath is our great- 
est enemy. 



68 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

There was published a few years ago a wonderful 
cure of consumption, performed by removing the 
patient to a stable, where he could be in close 
proximity to a cow — not that the cow had any- 
thing to do with the cure, except to supply the 
rich, warm milk, which is the consumptive's best 
food, and which, being taken warm, loses less of 
its electricity. But the air of the stable is purer 
than that of bed-chambers. Much of the benefit 
which people obtain who go to the seaside and the 
mountains could be had at home by pitching a tent 
in the door-yard and living in the open air for 
a season. 

Cities are not unhealthy from the outside air, but 
from the closely-built tenements, which shut out a 
large portion of the life-giving element. The vast 
ocean of air always in motion would carry life and 
health to thousands who are dying, could it have 
access to them. This is the great reason why per- 
sons who live in filth are often healthier than those 
in closely-built mansions. 

One reason why the heat of the open fire is more 
healthy than the heat of stoves is that it more 
nearly resembles the sun by radiation. Our bodies 
are hotter than the air because they, like other 
bodies, absorb the heat, and leave the air cooler for 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE. 69 

breathing. It is suspected by scientists that the 
electric or ozonic condition of the air is changed 
by passing over hot iron. This can not occur when 
rooms are heated by an open fire, and with them 
it is almost impossible to have stagnant ain Nat- 
ure has made wonderful provision for creating 
a constant circulation of air. The sun's rays, in 
passing through it, do not heat it, but they heat 
the earth at the very bottom of this ocean ; this in 
turn heats the air by radiation. Some substances 
radiate or throw off heat faster than others. Par- 
ticles of heated air expand and rise, and cold parti- 
cles rush in to fill their places, as there can not be 
a vacuum. Some substances absorb and some re- 
flect, while others radiate the heat, so that the air 
is never absolutely at rest anywhere. A constant 
supply of fresh air is no more necessary than to 
have a way of escape in the floor, or near it, for the 
carbonic acid which is thrown off from our lungs at 
every breath. Damp air is not as injurious to the 
lungs as to the skin. The electric or ozonic condi- 
tion of the atmosphere has more to do with its 
uncomfortableness than its dampness ; when it is 
positive it is bracing and refreshing; when negative 
it oppresses and debilitates. If the skin is warm 
no fear need be felt of breathing damp or cool air, 



70 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

either waking ox sleeping. Students, of all people, 
should understand ventilation. The weariness and 
headaches which come of close application, will be 
greatly lessened by giving the lungs all the pure, 
sweet air they can possibly contain. Children can 
play longer without fatigue in fresh air than when 
confined indoors. All workers know that fatigue 
and exhaustion come sooner if there is a lack of 
fresh air. 

Besides being well ventilated, our homes should 
be full of light and sunshine ; the floors should be 
kept clean, and the ceiling frequently whitened or 
calcimined. Sleeping-rooms should be furnis.hed with 
rugs or mats which can be thoroughly cleaned each 
week. If people will cover the floors of bedrooms, 
let it be with straw matting ; wool mats and rugs can 
be used in richness and profusion, sufficient to grat- 
ify the taste of the most fastidious. There should 
be no drafts of air in sleeping-rooms, neither should 
persons sit in a current of, air. Chamber utensils 
and crockery should be kept scrupulously clean, 
and when possible the windows of sleeping-rooms 
should be left open during the day, and nearly or 
quite closed on going to bed. There are machines 
for generating ozone, so simple and inexpensive that 
where people can afford to have a kerosene lamp. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE. 71 

they can also have this apparatus to prevent all 
foul odors, and to destroy the germs of disease. 
The days of whooping-cough and scarlet and ty- 
phoid fevers will be among the things of the past 
when the laws of hygiene are fully understood by 
the common people. Within the last ten years, 
Prof. Huxley says, 10,000 children have died from 
scarlet fever in England alone. This does not in- 
clude the number of maimed and diseased for life. 
The cause of this terrible scourge will be removed, 
and the massacre of our innocents come to an end, 
when the colleges make hygienists, as well as 
physicians. " The people perish for lack of knowl- 
edge.'' Doctors are the proper ones to teach this 
subject. In a recent advertisement in a medical 
journal we were shocked by the paragraph at the 
end, which read : ^^ The interests of physicians 
carefully guarded." How long, O Lord, how long, 
before human nature can become grand enough to 
^^ do unto others as they would that others should 
do to them" ? — before men and women can go into 
the highways and hedges and teach the laws of pre- 
vention, instead of dispensing drugs for the thou- 
sand ills which afflict humanity ? He or she who 
shall be the means of securing public baths for the 
poor, and industrial schools where useful labor can 



'J2 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

be taught with book knowledge, and the laws of 
health to all, including the outcast and her children, 
will be a greater philanthropist than any who 
have gone before. 

, Without some able mind to draw electricity from 
the clouds to the earth, and chain it to our 
thought, where would have been our wonderful 
system of telegraphy, and the still more wonderful 
telephone ! Jenner's discovery of vaccination has 
saved millions of lives. But for the far-seeing eye 
of the educated physician, our country to-day 
would not occupy its advanced position among the 
nations. The system of quarantine stays the 
plague. One hundred years ago seamen died by 
the thousand of scurvy, a disease almost unknown' 
at the present day. It is well to pray for deliver- 
ance from cholera and yellow fever, if we at the 
same time avail ourselves, as a nation, of the best 
sanitary conditions. ^^ The alleviation of the mis- 
eries of mankind, and the promotion of its welfare, 
must be sought diligently and untiringly, by pa- 
tient and loving study of all the multitudinous 
aspects and secrets of nature, until exact knowl- 
edge or science is the result ; then it will be some- 
body's fault if scarlet or typhoid fever is allowed to 
spread/' 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE. 73 

The study of hygiene has received attention in 
all parts of the civilized world since Florence 
Nightingale became a ministering angel to the sol- 
diery of the Crimean war, and called attention to 
it ; but what has been learned is but a drop in the 
mighty ocean of knowledge which must be taught 
to all who have sufficient brains to realize the fact 
that the human race, as well as plants and animals, 
is subject to improvement. The authorities, when 
once aroused, will attend to the sanitary conditions 
which each season of the year requires. Sickness 
comes with the melting snow, and great care in 
eating, and attention to the laws of health, should 
at this time be used. Closets and cess-pools need 
lime and copperas each week. All decaying vege- 
tables and garbage must be removed and covered 
with earth, instead of remaining in cellars, or stand- 
ing in streets, sending out its effluvia and sickening 
odors. It should be a law, and a heavy penalty at- 
tached to the breaking of it, that each rented 
house, or apartments, rented for sleeping-rooms, 
should have sunlight either morning or -afternoon, 
and also means of ventilation. It would be better 
for people to live in tents the whole year round 
than in many dark, damp, and smoky places into 
which human beings are crowded with no possi- 



74 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

bilities of cleanliness or of pure air. We trust the 
time is not far distant when tests for impure air 
will be made by health officers, and the apparatus 
for its purification supplied to those unable to pro- 
cure it themselves. 

The blue-glass theory has faded away, but we, if 
we could, would build tenement-houses with win- 
dows to imitate the colors of the rainbow. This 
may have been the lesson the Creator intended 
when he flung it, in all its marvelous beauty, 
across the sky. The arithmetic of health needs 
to be understood more than numbers. The young 
have greater need, as they, more than the old, will 
have opportunity to profit by it. 

The three necessaries for health and comfort are 
warmth, fresh air, and moisture. When in motion, 
warm air rises and cold air falls ; when at rest, the 
stratums of different temperatures arrange them- 
selves transversely ; for these reasons, the windows 
of sleeping-rooms should be made to raise from the 
bottom and lower from the top. 

Some reasons why scarlet fever and diphtheria 
make such ravages in country, as well as in city 
homes : 

It is a well-known fact that the ground contains 
air in circulation; although we do not see it, it is 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE. 75 

nevertheless moving and obeying the same laws 
which govern that above the earth. Calm although 
it seems, it, like that which fills our lungs, is never 
still. Upon the density of the soil depends the 
quantity of air circulating in the ground. Gravel, 
which is thought the best foundation for houses, 
contains most, sand and clay a less, proportion of 
air, which is affected by the substances which filter 
through them. Dr. Max Van Petterkoffer, Profes- 
sor of Hygiene in the University of Munich, says : 
" A house standing on piles stands with its foot in 
water ; by the removal of atmospheric pressure this 
water is drawn up by the walls till beyond the 
water-mark, and this ground water has a good deal 
to do with the house." By this simile he shows 
that a house is affected by the kind of earth upon 
which it stands. There is more or less water con- 
tained in all kinds of earth, and when frozen it is 
almost as hard to work as stone, yet allows some 
circulation of ground air. The same authority says : 
^^ Persons have been poisoned and killed by gas 
which had to travel twenty feet under the street, 
and then through the foundations, cellar vaults, and 
flooring of the ground-floor rooms. These accidents 
occur in winter, the frozen ground preventing the 
straight-upward escape of the gas. The houses act as 



76 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

chimneys, and by their warmth invite the ground 
air, gas, or deadly vapor which is seeking to escape. 
Some of the most dangerous vapors .can not be de- 
tected by our senses.'* 

The absolute and imperative importance of having 
the foundations of our houses built upon clean earth, 
and protected with drain pipes of iron instead of 
porous clay, must impress itself upon the mind of 
every thoughtful person. If made of clay, they 
should be made air-tight by glazing. 

When the joints of earthen pipes have become 
worn, or when the earth beneath them settles un- 
evenly, as is frequently the case, the sewer gas finds 
its way into the tiniest crevice ; the deadly poison 
is manufactured in silence and darkness, to worm 
its hydra-head into our sleeping-rooms, giving the 
fatal potion to the dearest and most helpless, who 
have the least power to resist it. 

Those unable to remain out of doors hours each 
day are surest to become victims. Is it not high 
time to let tradition go, and educate ourselves in 
these vital subjects ? God gave man reason for a 
purpose. 

Houses in the country have no protection against 
this danger except such as hygiene teaches. Those 
whose duty it has been to instruct in these things 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE. ^^ 

have not understood their responsibility. It is but 
recently the colleges have instituted chairs for 
teaching the laws of hygiene. If doctors were paid, 
as in China, for keeping the people well, the stimu- 
lus to teach hygiene would be greater. There, 
when people get sick, the doctor^s pay stops. 

In building houses, the drainage pipes connect- 
ing with the sewer should be fastened to the cellar 
wall, in plain sight, where the slightest leak could 
be instantly detected. Its connection with the 
sewer is, perhaps, its most important joint. A com- 
partment should be built around it and made easily 
accessible, so that in case of needed repair from 
the frost, or the man-pursuing rat, the order of the 
house need not be disturbed. In building houses, 
four things are of paramount importance — First, 
the ground upon which they are built ; second, 
their location in regard to sunlight in all the living- 
rooms ; third, the best methods of ventilation ; 
and, fourth, of drainage. Considering the disre- 
gard of all these conditions, so necessary to the 
health of the community, is it a wonder that infant 
mortality is so great ; and that, almost yearly, 
epidemics of small-pox, scarlet and typhoid fevers 
desolate the land ? 



CHAPTER V. 

THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

In the preceding chapters we have seen how 
varied and complex are the motions necessary to 




Fig. 6.— The Brain Exposed. 

The external surface of the cerebrum is seen in Fig. 6. /r, a. The scalp 

turned down. <5, b. Cut edges of the skull bones. 3. The dura mater sus- 
pended by a hook. 4. The left hemisphere. 

maintain the life of the body. There is a mutual 
dependence of all portions of the machinery of or- 
ganic life upon each other, and a necessity for some 

(78) 



THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



79 



medium of communication from one organ to an- 
other, by which they convey mutual information of 
their several conditions. Were there no such me- 
dium.the stomach could 
not notify the heart to 
work harder when di- 
gesting food. After 
using the muscles until 
their strength is nearly 
exhausted, how are 
they, without this me- 
dium, to inform the 
stomach that rest is re- 
quired before they can 
spare the blood and 
nerve requisite for di- 
gestion ? We often hear 
hungry people say they 
are too tired to eat. If 
the whole frame is 
weary from exertion, 
digestion can not go on 
vigorously, though the 
stomach be full of food. 

Without some line of inter-communication, the 
brain would not be informed in respect to hunger, 




Fig. 7.— The Nervous System. 



80 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

weariness, or the need of rest and sleep. The tele- 
graphic communication is the nervous system. The 
brain is that portion of it contained in the cranium. 
In infancy it consists of a soft, pulpy mass, growing 
firmer as age advances. It is more abundantly 
supplied with blood-vessels than any other part of 
the system ; this is probably one reason why over- 
eating causes headaches. More blood is made, during 
the process of digestion, and carried through the 
vessels of the brain, than nature needs ; the vessels 
become engorged, dizziness supervenes, and the 
health of the entire body suffers. The sick head- 
aches, which are such a horror to many, could be 
avoided, in most cases, by knowing when to stop 
eating. Fevers are also induced this way. 

Physiologists regard the brain as the organ of 
the mind. It is divided into two parts, the cere- 
brum and the cerebellum. The cerebrum, or large 
brain, is the seat of the faculties, thinking, mem- 
ory, and will. To the small brain is ascribed the 
seat of the animal passions. The largest healthy 
brain on record is that of Cuvier, which weighed 
four pounds. 

The brain imparts sensation, sight, hearing, 
smell, taste, feeling, etc. 

The portion of the spinal cord contained within 



THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



the cranium is called the medulla oblongata. In 
cerebro-spinal meningitis it is this portion of the 
brain which suffers. There are twelve pairs of 
cranial nerves, which have their origin in the crani- 
um, and pierce it at different orifices to supply the 




Fig. 8. — The Nerves Connected with the Brain. 

Fig. 8 shows the origin of the cranial nerves. The numbers are placed 
against the corresponding pairs of nerves, ii and 12 are spinal nerves, a^ a, 
a. Cerebrum. i>. Cerebellum, c. Medulla oblongata, d. Medulla spinalis. 
y. Corpus callosum. 

eyes, nose, teeth, ears, tongue, and the muscles of 
the face and neck. The spinal cord contains the 
roots of all the spinal nerves. There are thirty-one 
pairs, each arising from two roots, one anterior and 
internal, which gives the movable power to the 



82 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

muscles. These nerves can be cut with but little 
pain, but the motion of the part which they supply 
is lost. 

The other is posterior and external. This sup- 
plies sensation to the entire body. 

The nerves of sympathy consist of a series of 
knots or ganglia, forming a chain on each side of 
the spinal column. These gangUa give off branches 
in four directions: one above and one below, to 
communicate with other ganglia ; and one with the 
sympathetic filaments. It is this nerve which car- 
ries sensation from one diseased organ to another. 
If the liver or stomach is disordered, the brain feels 
pain. The sympathetic nerves exert controlling 
influence over the involuntary functions of di- 
gestion, absorption, secretion, circulation, and nu- 
trition. If the trunk of a nerve is diseased, pain is 
felt in the extremity. Even if one filament be out 
of order, it may cause pain in a remote part of the 
body. 

Over-stimulation with tea, coffee, alcohol, or 
tobacco often induces disease of the nervous sys- 
tem. Nothing else is so hard to cure as diseased 
nerves, or causes more excruciating sufferings. 

The nerves are the instruments of expression 
from the smile of infancy to the last agony of life. 



THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 83 

They announce our sentiments : love, joy, hope, 
fear, and ecstasy ; envy, hatred, grief, and every 
other emotion. 

All their shades and diversities are imprinted in 
characters so clear that ^^ those who run may read *' 
our innermost thoughts. The will can but partially 
control, and keep these hidden. Thus conscious 
guilt shrinks from detection, innocence declares its 
confidence, and hope anticipates with bright ex- 
pectations. All beauty and power of expression 
without their aid would be lost. (To preserve the 
beauty of which all women are fond, a knowledge 
of the brain and nervous system is absolutely nec- 
essary.) 

If the brain is sound, there is less tendency to 
nervous and hereditary diseases. One of the rea- 
sons against the intermarriage of relatives is that if 
both parents are descended from tainted families, 
however far removed, their children will be im- 
pressed, and rendered liable to imbecility, or other 
forms of nervous disease. The Spanish nation has 
lapsed into all forms of nervous disease, and imbe- 
cility ; and the noble talents of other countries are 
often lost from this cause. 

Two persons of excitable and delicate nervous 
temperament should never marry ; but nervous and 



84 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

bilious, and vice versa. Parents who have over- 
stimulated brains and nerves are likely to have 
scrofulous children, remarkable for large heads and 
precocity of understanding. Fond parents are 
often misled by the hope of genius, and excite the 
young brain still farther by constant cultivation and 
the unceasing stimulus of praise ; such children are 
apt to outstrip their fellows, but all of a sudden, 
sometimes, and sometimes by slow approach, the 
brain gives out, becomes diseased, or loses tone, 
leaving the mental powers depressed for the re- 
mainder of life. One such case has recently come 
to my knowledge ; a remarkably bright young man, 
seventeen years of age, went to college, graduated 
with honors, and subsequently at a law school he 
was noted for his attainments, and admitted to 
practice. From that time his mind seemed to de- 
cline ; his bright thoughts left him, and at thirty 
years of age the only work he could execute satis- 
factorily to his friends was choring about the house, 
milking the cows, and feeding the chickens. He 
was the only son of wealthy parents, whose only 
hope of future representation on earth went out, 
by forcing their son's precocious brain. Such chil- 
dren should never look at books before ten or twelve 
years of age ; no school except the kindergarten 



THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 85 

allowed. They should live out of doors, and enjoy 
the sports of children to their fullest extent. 

The different organs of the brain should be 
called into exercise regularly at stated periods, as 
there is a tendency to resume the same modes of 
action at stated times. Some diseases, as neural- 
gia, appear regularly at the same time each day. 

A recent writer says that if the brain is built 
aright, the Divine Spirit will inhabit it ; but build it 
wrong and the devil will employ it. We all know 
that a perfect brain can not grow on an unhealthy 
or an imperfectly developed body. This fact 
should be known by those who are, or expect to 
be, mothers, in order that the direction of their 
thoughts may be rightly guided. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INTEMPERANCE. 

Dr. B. W. Richardson, Fellow of the Royal 
Society, London, after gathering the history of two 
thousand cases of consumption among drunkards, 
says that he found the cause, in a majority of in- 
stances, predisposition from hereditary taint ; but 
after a rigid analysis, there remained two per cent, 
in whom consumption had been brought on by the 
use of alcoholic drink solely. These persons were 
neither old nor young, being under fifty and over 
twenty-eight. The average was forty-eight years, and 
were persons of whom it was never expected that 
their death would come from consumption. They 
were healthy men who could endure everything, eat 
well, sleep well, and drink well : men of excellent 
physique, active minds, and habits. They were not 
drinkers of strong drinks, who took little exercise, 
became pale, heavy, and of waxy countenance. In 
the ordinary sense they were not drunkards, per- 
haps never intoxicated, still they drank freely of ev- 
ery kind of alcoholic drink. Beer was water to them, 
wine was weak. The enemy they courted so long 

(86) 



INTEMPERANCE. 8/ 

was resisted, on account of their perfectly healthy- 
organizations ; as a rule they were thoughtless of 
their own health, and had abundant store of ener- 
gy. Their faces were the best part of them, conse- 
quently the danger was not discovered until the 
lungs were nearly destroyed by the encroachments 
of disease. 

Alcohol poisons by depriving the mucous mem- 
brane, as well as the other organs, of moisture. Let 
us see how a crude glass of whiskey will affect a 
person unused to it. When taken into the mouth, 
the salivary glands pour out their contents to such 
a degree that thirst is sure to follow in a short time. 
The gastric juices of the stomach also are profusely 
poured out, and with the alcohol soon pass out of 
it into the intestinal canal. Into this canal open 
tens of thousands of little vessels which absorb 
what is small enough to enter their microscopic 
mouths, and at the same time they are excited to 
pour out more of their own fluids than is their 
wont. We can easily account for the thirst which 
follows the repeated and long-continued habit of 
using any kind of drink, or food, for that matter, 
which over-stimulates the mucous membrane of the 
stomach and intestines. In consequence of this 
over-action of the vessels, blood rushes to them 



88 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

and they become engorged, the membrane is thick- 
ened, and after continued repetitions of this action 
inflammations ensue which are mild at first, or sub- 
acute ; but notwithstanding nature is constantly re- 
sisting, there is after a while acute inflammation 
constantly present. 

Could we look at the coats of the stomach or lungs, 
we should see patches which readily bleed, and as the 
disease progresses, become like honeycomb. It is 
this irritated, burning, and constant craving of the 
stomach which gives rise to this ever-present rest- 
lessness. Instead of satisfying the appetite with 
food or drink, it is continually crying, Give, give. 
Something new must the good wife find to appease 
this unnatural appetite ; condiments are resorted 
to, and all sorts of highly-seasoned food, which in 
the end only increases the trouble. If the patient 
would drink a pint of hot water three times daily, an 
hour before eating, it would relieve this burning and 
craving, and in the end effect a cure. Some of you 
may know how this patient wife overworks and 
stints herself and children in order to be able to 
minister to this, sooner or later, sick husband. We 
may understand how the dimples in her once beau- 
tiful face are elongated and are now lines of care 
or wrinkles. This husband may too late wish her 
earnest counsels had been heeded. 



INTEMPERANCE. 89 

Oh, the sorrow I feel for the helpless and weak 
ones, who are dependent upon the strength and 
support of such husbands ; and I feel sorrow, too, 
for the victim who will sooner or later be over- 
whelmed in grief, disaster, and ruin. It is asserted 
on the best authority that no form of consumption 
is as surely fatal as that produced by alcohol. In 
plain terms there is no remedy for Alcoholic Phthisis. 
It may be delayed in its course, but never cured ; 
not infrequently, however, it runs on to a fatal ter- 
mination more rapidly than is common to any other 
type of this disorder. It begins in the membranes 
and runs through their tissues. The blood-vessels, 
after being a long time congested, give way, and 
blood is exuded or extravasated into the lungs; 
the membranous structure around the heart grows 
thick, cartilaginous, and bony ; the valves which are 
made of folds of membrane lose their suppleness, 
and valvular disease of the heart is established. 
Those who suffer from organic disease of the heart, 
learn the fact so insidiously, that the mischief is far 
advanced before it is suspected. They are for years 
conscious of failing power or strength from slight 
causes, such as over - exertion, broken rest, or too 
long abstinence from food. They feel what they 
call a sinking sensation, and know that wine or 
some other stimulant will at once relieve it. Thus 



90 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

they seek relief, until at last this remedy fails, and 
the faithful heart will bear no more. ** The gover- 
nor of the blood stream is broken, and its vessels 
overflow and the work of destruction completed.'* 

Alcohol injures the dehcate nervous expanscof 
the eye, upon which the image of all objects we 
look at are impressed. 

Lesions of the brain and spinal cord, and all the 
nervous matter become subject to organic deterio- 
ration. These unhealthy conditions of cerebral 
and spinal matter give rise to a series of derange- 
ments, which show themselves in the worst forms of 
nervous diseases, epilepsy, local or general paralysis, 
and insanity. All of these conditions send out flags 
of warning. A man finds his power of speech fail- 
ing — this is a sign. His muscles are unstable ; he 
makes movements without the use of his will, or 
when he is off guard. Ignorant of the danger her- 
alded by these warnings he continues on his way 
until the agitated limbs become ' unsteady, perhaps 
paralyzed. The saddest part of this picture is, that 
the bodily suffering is never so great as the mental. 
These states of physical and mental suffering are 
sometimes continuous, sometimes intermittent. 
There may be intervals of perfect sanity and quiet ; 
then, as if an electric storm swept over them, they 
madden themselves with spirit. They repent and 



INTEMPERANCE. 9I 

reform time after time until the will-power is weak- 
ened, and remorse and regret pursue them. Fear 
and despair settle upon all who know them inti- 
mately, for they are the most terrible members of 
community. The nearest and dearest friend is in 
danger of the murderous weapon. Their very foot- 
steps carry dread to those most helpless and inno- 
cent. They are the dangerous members of commu- 
nity, whom legislators fear to touch, and fain would 
cure by scourge and chain. 

Physiologists understand that prevention in these 
cases is the only cure. 

It is humane of governments to build prisons for 
these unfortunates to occupy when all hope is fled ! 
Would it not be a thousand times more so to make 
such laws as would prevent ih.^ possibility of this 
class of sufferers ? Take away the possibility of 
getting alcohol. 

Looking at this in a financial point of view, and 
even as if these immortal men were nothing more 
than brutes, it would save millions of much-needed 
treasure to the almost bankrupt nations of the 
earth. 

By far the saddest part of this picture is, that 
the miseries and wrongs produced by alcohol are 
passed on to generations yet unborn. It ought 
to be the work of this age to purify, to beautify, 



92 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

and lead on the next to a glorious millennium ; 
to leave to our children their birth-right of pure 
blood and healthy brain. This would save the pos- 
sibility of a drunkard's grave. 

If it can be proven, as some advocates of strong 
drink claim, that it is capable of supporting life, it 
is certain that it kills in Russia ten thousand an- 
nually ; in England fifty thousand die every year 
by this slow and terribly painful process. If as a 
medicine it sometimes seems to act beneficially, it 
is a terribly dangerous instrument even in the 
hands of the educated and wise, and a murderous 
one in the hands of the ignorant. It is the duty 
of physicians to educate the people in this vital 
subject, as well as to cure the evil of using intoxi- 
cating drinks among themselves. 

It is sometimes remarked in regard to doctors 
who use strong drink, that if you can find them 
sober, they are more brilliant than their fellows 
who lead a sober life ; this false opinion has sacri- 
ficed many lives, as educated observers in hundreds 
of instances can testify. These fitful meteoric 
flashes of knowledge can not compare with that 
acquired by the '' eternal " vigilance of the true 
physician. Educated people prefer a sober pilot 
at the helm in a storm. 



CHAPTER VII. 

TOBACCO. 

Next in importance to the evils of intemperance 
comes that of the use of tobacco. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes says : ^' Each of us is the 
footing up of a long column of figures, that goes 
back to the first pair. No doubt we take color 
from many, and not only inherit their natural con- 
stitutional tendencies, but those acquired, whether 
of virtue or vice." 

He says, also, '' that if the identical vice does not 
appear, there is a morbid or diseased organization, 
and something akin to it appears in posterity.'' 

A very learned physician, after long study of 
the eflects of tobacco, says : " Enervation, hys- 
teria, insanity, and dwarfish deformities, much of 
the consumption, many suffering lives, and early 
deaths among the children of those who use it, 
bear the strongest testimony to the feebleness and 
unsoundness of the constitution transmitted from 
father to child by the use of this pernicious drug.'' 

(93) 



94 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

Care, proper education, and good habits do much 
to avert the mental and physical ills, yet it is im- 
possible to eradicate the inherited defect. 

There is a great waste in nervous action, which 
must constantly be supplied to keep the brain and 
nerves healthy ; and as the blood is the reservoir of 
food for all parts of the body, the importance of 
its being made of non-stimulating food, appears in 
strong relief. 

Air impregnated with tobacco injures the lungs, 
but the brain more. The nerves first of any organ 
feel poison in the air. This, with improperly chosen 
food, starves the brain. Ideas become confused, 
the feelings morbid, the power of the will weak- 
ened, and the whole being deteriorated mentally, 
morally, and physically. Healthy nerves make us 
happy, diseased or disordered ones miserable. They 
do not get sick without long abuse or provocation. 
Tobacco more than almost anything else ruins the 
nervous system. 

A lady told me not long since, her children were 
so feeble that she often had the gravest fears lest 
she could not raise them, and asked if I could tell 
her the cause. 

In as thorough analysis as I could make of the 
constitutions of both parents, I could detect noth- 



TOBACCO. 95 

ing like disease ; but the father and grandfather 
were both addicted to the use of tobacco and mod- 
erate drinking. The father smoked, or chewed con- 
stantly, and his sleeping-room was so saturated 
with the odor of tobacco that the wife was obhged 
to occupy another room ; the little boy slept with 
his father. He continued to get weaker until re- 
moved to apartments supplied with pure fresh air ; 
since that time he has improved in health and 
strength. 

Men will not acknowledge that they are slaves to 
the use of tobacco ; but they find if they attempt to 
break themselves of the habit, that they are in a 
bondage from which they find it almost impossible 
to free themselves. When men are once aroused 
to the evil effects entailed upon their offspring by 
habits which to them seem a luxury not to be dis- 
pensed with, it seems they must arouse to the 
necessity of exercising a power of will sufficient to 
break the strong chains of habit which bind them. 

Above all should they feel the necessity of teach- 
ing their boys the danger of indulging their appe- 
tites, or of educating themselves to an unnatural 
fondness of the vile weed — of which it is said the 
evil one sowed the seed. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE STRUCTURE AND CARE OF THE SKIN. 

As the health of the body depends largely upon 
the skin, we will consider its structure, its functions, 
and the care it should receive. Its sensitive layer 
is thin, soft, uneven, and of a pinkish hue. It is 
composed of blood-vessels and nerves. The former 
give it the various tints of red, and the latter sen- 
sation. The unevenness is caused by papillae, each 
of which is supplied with a nerve, vein, and artery. 
The true skin contains not only arteries, veins, and 
nerves, but also lymphatics, oil glands and tubes, 
and perspiratory glands and tubes. 

The sensitive nerves, with which the skin is sup- 
plied, proceed from the spinal cord, and as a proof 
that they are thoroughly distributed, the point 
of the finest needle can not be introduced into any 
part of it without causing pain. In the small pa- 
pillae the nerve forms a single loop, but in those of 
more exalted sensation it is bent several times upon 

itself before forming the loop. These nerves arise 
(96) 



STRUCTURE AND CARE OF THE SKIN. 



97 



from others which come through the layers of fat 
in many tortuous windings. The lymphatics are to 
remove the waste and worn-out tissues of the body ; 
they are found in the skin in great numbers, and 




Fig. 9.— Anatomy of the Skin. 

In Fig. 9 are seen — i. The epiderma. 2. Its deep layer, the rete mucosum. 
3. Two of the quadrangular papillary clumps composed of minute conical 
papillae, such as are seen in the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot. 4. 
Deep layer of the derma, the corium. 5. Adipose cells. 6. A sudoriparous 
gland with its spiral duct, as is seen in the palm of the hand and sole of the 
foot. 7. Another sudoriparous gland with a straighter duct, such as is seen in 
the scalp. 8. Two hairs from the scalp, enclosed in their follicles ; their relative 
depth in the skin is preserved, 9. A pair of sebiparous glands, opening by 
short ducts into the follicles of the hair. 

are too small to be seen with the naked eye, but if 
injected with quicksilver the entire body resembles 
a sheet of silver. 
5 



98 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

The oil glands are imbedded in the skin, and 
open at the end of each hair on the entire surface 
of the body, and supply it with nourishment. If 
rightly understood and cared for, these glands fur- 
nish a better pomatum for the hair than drug- 
gists can supply. It is the thickenmg of the oil in 
these glands which forms the 
little black spots on the skin 

sometimes called worms or 

• 

Fig. lo shows the anatomy of a portion of the 
skin taken from the palm of the hand i. Pa- 
pillary layer, marked by longitudinal furrows 
(2), which arrange the papillae into ridgee. 3. 
Transverse furrows, which divide the ridges into 
small quadrangular clumps. 4. The rete mu- 
cosum raised from the papillary layer and turned 
2 back. 5, 5. Perspiratory ducts drawn out straight 

Fig. ID.— The Integument of by the separation of the rete mucosum from the 
THE Hand. papillary layer. 

grubs. When irritated by squeezing, these often 
inflame and cause a chronic roughness of the face. 

The entire body should be cleansed once a week 
by a thorough bath, and an occasional cool, not 
cold, sponge in the interval, followed by friction 
with the hand or towel until there is a thorough 
reaction. 

The perspiratory apparatus, or the sweat tubes, 
is contained in the third layer, or true skin, and un- 
derlies the coloring matter. It consists of minute 
tubes which pass through the upper layers and ter- 




STRUCTURE AND CARE OF THE SKIN. 99 

minate in its deepest meshes ; each tube forms a 
beautiful spiral coil, and when arriving at its desti- 
nation coils upon itself in such a way as to form an 
oval-shaped ball called the perspiratory gland. The 
openings of these glands' we call pores. Physiol- 
ogists say that in an ordinary-sized body there are 
about seven million perspiratory tubes, each tube 
one-fourth of an inch long, making a drainage of 
nearly twenty-eight miles. From twenty to forty 
ounces of waste pass through these pores every 
twenty-four hours. If from cold, or neglect, these 
openings become obstructed, the absorbents carry 
this poison back into the system for other organs 
to eliminate, giving them more than their share of 
work, and an entire derangement of the system fol- 
lows sooner or later. Many people do not under- 
stand that this constant renewal and waste is a 
never-failing law of the system. There is no stand- 
still point from the moment of birth till the day of 
death. To keep this renewal and waste equally 
balanced insures health. If the building process 
goes on faster than the waste, people become dis- 
eased, or grow too fat. If the removal of particles 
of matter be too rapid, the body becomes emaciated 
and the skin wrinkles. Nearly one-third of the 
blood in the whole body is contained in the skin. 



TOO MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

When a cold sensation is felt the blood is driven 
inward, and congests other organs unless they can 
take on increased action by removing the watery 
part of the blood, thus reducing its quantity ; but 
the waste must be eliminated through the air pas- 
sages of the lungs or kidneys or bowels, and these 
become diseased by doing the work of the skin if 
long continued. Hence, checking the circulation 
through the skin is one of the greatest of evils ; to 
keep it well protected and of a uniform temperature 
at all seasons of the year is most important. If the 
blood is driven from the skin it is most likely to 
engorge the lungs, as they are elastic, and can more 
readily than other organs allow it place. The di- 
gestive organs suffer from engorgement, as well as 
the muscles and brain, and if allowed to remain 
long, inflammation of these organs supervenes. 
Knowledge how to care for the skin would save 
thousands yearly from diarrhoea, catarrh, and con- 
sumption, and lessen to a great degree the number 
afflicted with rheumatism and neuralgia. It may 
seem impossible in this climate to adapt cloth- 
ing to the sensitive condition of the skin^ but 
graded flannels should be in readiness and changed 
from thick to thin as the weather changes, and 
thus the suggestion of a chill avoided. 



STRUCTURE AND CARE OF THE SKIN. lOI 

If the body is exhausted by fatigue, sickness, loss 
of sleep, or from any cause, reaction can not readily 
take place ; therefore the skin should not be ex- 
posed to cold, or be bathed in cold water. Damp 
air is often thought to be injurious to the lungs ; 
it is not as much so as to the skin. The electric 
condition of the air has more to do with its uncom- 
fortableness than its dampness. When the air is 
positively electric we feel refreshed and strength- 
ened ; when it is negative we are depressed and 
debilitated. When this last condition is present 
the skin should be rubbed with a dry towel. If 
the towel is wrung out of brine the night previous 
and dried, it is a good substitute for the salt sponge- 
bath, and can be used in traveling with greater ease. 
There need be no fear of breathing cold or damp 
air if the skin is warm. Young children should not 
be put into water while bathing, but a part of the 
body bathed and dried thoroughly, and then an- 
other, thus avoiding the danger of colds arising 
from wetting the entire surface at once. 

When suffering from fevers, or almost any sick- 
ness, the body should be sponged in bed in a flan- 
nel sheet to protect the bedding and prevent a 
chill. For very sick persons a foot-bath can be 
given by first folding a flannel blanket under the 



102 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

feet and legs and partially wringing a large bath- 
towel out of hot water and wrapping them in it ; 
then roll the blanket around them, and leave them 
for half an hour with hot bottles or a water-bag to 
keep them warm. A bath should never be taken 
within two hours after a meal, or when fatigued by 
physical or mental exertion. 

The mucous membrane is a continuation of the 
skin at all the orifices of the body, and when the 
skin is chilled the blood which belongs in it goes 
to this membrane ; it becomes inflamed and thick- 
ened ; catarrh and bowel troubles are often the im- 
mediate result, and congestions and serious lung 
troubles are apt to follow. Three grades of flannel 
should be worn in this climate. There is no such 
thing as hardening people by wearing an inade- 
quate amount of clothing. There is less vital 
energy at night, and the skin then needs more 
clothing, instead of less, than in the morning. 
After the body is wearied with labor an extra gar- 
ment is required while resting. The clothing should 
be loose, light, and porous. A shoe which fits easily 
is warmer than a tight one. Gloves are frequently 
worn too tight to allow the blood to circulate suffi- 
ciently to keep the hands warm. No rule can be 
given for clothing different people or children. 



STRUCTURE AND CARE OF THE SKIN. I03 

Those who have large brains, full chests, large 
lungs, and breathe an adequate amount of pure air, 
and eat the right kind of food, need less clothing 
than those of an opposite character, because more 
heat is generated in the system. Children and old 
people require more clothing than vigorous adults. 
If possible the clothing worn during the day should 
hang in the fresh air at night. Clean clothes are 
warmer than when soiled. Frequent changes are 
necessary lest the body reabsorb the impurities the 
skin has thrown off. All changes from thick to 
thin should be made in the morning. If accident- 
ally wet, the clothing should be changed imme- 
diately, and the skin rubbed until dry and red. It 
is well to rub with alcohol if the person is feeble. 
If change is impossible, keep warm at all events. 

If the brain is healthy and the skin kept in good 
condition, the sense of touch is acute ; if com- 
pressed or diseased, it will be less so. It is not un- 
common to see an unfortunate insane person endure 
exposure to heat and cold with seeming impunity. 
The quantity of blood in the skin determines its 
sensitiveness. This is proved by almost freezing a 
part and then performing operations upon it. 

A sudden transition from heat to cold, and vice 
versa, often causes great pain. These changes 



I04 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

should be gradual. If the hands, feet, or ears 
should be frozen, safety demands that the person 
be kept in a cool room and the parts restored by 
moderate friction. The part will be destroyed by 
immersing in hot water, or if held by the fire. Old 
people should bathe the skin in olive-oil once a 
week to protect it from wrinkles. Finally the skin 
should be kept clean and warm, and covered by 
loose, porous, and light clothing to insure the health 
of the body. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BREAD AND BUTTER. 

From the first moment of existence to the latest 
day of life change is constantly going on in our 
bodies. This is God's law, and in view of it we 
should not be unhappy. It seems, at first thought, 
revolting to dwell upon the decay of matter in our 
bodies, but we must remember that those of us 
who have attained middle life have left behind us 
several bodies, about which we do not mourn, but 
rather rejoice, as those we now possess are better 
fitted for our present use. It would ill become 
men and women to appear in children's bodies. I 
imagine when we become clothed in spiritual bodies, 
we shall not desire to exchange them for the ones 
we now occupy, and which are, as I before said, 
changing constantly. 

Tlfe hands we use to-day, and the feet we walk 

upon, are not those of yesterday in all respects. 

New atoms of matter are being deposited and old 

and useless ones constantly removed. The mate- 

S* (105) 



io6 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



rial necessary to sustain the growth of the body, 
and to repair its waste which is unceasing, is the 
food we eat, our " bread and butter." Animal and 
vegetable food contains most of the elements of the 
different tissues of the body, yet it must undergo 
essential change before it can become a part of it. 




Fig. II. 

In Fig. II all of the salivary glands are represented in their natural situation. 
I. The parotid gland, extending from the zygomatic arch of the cheek-bone 
to the angle of the jaw below. 2. Its duct, termed the duct of Steno. 3. The 
sub-maxillary gland. 4. Its duct. 5. Sub-lingual gland. 

In digesting our food there is nothing more im- 
portant than the saliva, and that we may have a 
clear idea of its office, I will briefly describe the or- 
gans of digestion. 

On each side of the mouth, and beneath the 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 10/ 

tongue, are six glands which manufacture this fluid. 
When food which is palatable is taken, it may be 




Fig. 12. — ^ViTAL System. 

A. Heart. B, B. Lungs. C. Liver. D. Stomach. E. Spleen, m^ -m. 
Kidneys, g. Bladder, d. is the diaphragm which forms the partition between 
the thorax and abdomen. Under the latter is the cardiac orifice of the stomach, 
and at the right extremity, or pit of the stomach, is the pyloric orifice. 



io8 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



seen, in streams sometimes, pouring into the mouth. 
Food should never be swallowed until thoroughly- 
masticated, and saturated with it, neither should it 
be weakened by its admixture with other fluids. 
When food is swallowed, it does not drop directly 
into the stomach, but is slowly pushed forward by 




Fig. 13. — Front View of the Stomach. 

I. Anterior face of the oesophagus. 2. The cul-de-sac, or greater extremity. 
3. The lesser or pyloric extremity. 4. The duodenum. 5. A portion of the 
peritoneal coat, turned back. 6. A portion of the longitudinal fibers of the 
muscular coat. 7. The circular fibers of the muscular coat. 8. Oblique mus- 
cular fibers. 9. Portion of the muscular coat of the duodenum, shown by re- 
movmg the peritoneal coat. 

the contraction of a muscle which winds around 
the esophagus or meat pipe. The stomach is in 
the left side of the abdomen, below, but in contact 
with, the diaphragm. It has two openings, one 
called cardiac, because near the heart, and the other 



BREAD AND BUTTER. I09 

pyloric : this one connects it with the upper end of 
the small intestines. 

The interior or mucous coat of the stomach is 
arranged in folds when it is empty, which disappear 
when it is full. It is provided with multitudes of 
glands which secrete gastric fluid. When seen 
through a magnifying-glass it looks like honey- 
comb. Are not the workings of nature in the dark 
and silent chambers of the body both wonderful 
and beautiful ? If digestion, or grinding of the 
food, and carrying it to its place of rebuilding in 
the body, was accompanied by the noise the miller 
makes in his preparations, we should have less 
quiet slumber than we do now. 

^^ Man has yet to improve many generations be- 
fore he can operate with the beauty and precision 
he everywhere sees around him. If, however, he 
would more closely watch nature, and study her 
laws more diligently, his improvement in every 
variety of handiw^ork would be greatly accelerated." 

There is no organ in the body which changes 
place like the stomach ; that is, when the body is 
in its natural shape and state. 

If the ribs are tied down with corsets, and the 
trunk is imprisoned in whalebone, it would be un- 
reasonable to expect it to move very far, and it 



no 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



must get along the best way it can, and do its work 
as best it may under the circumstances. It would, 
if allowed, at every inspiration be pushed down- 




Fig. 14. — Posterior View of Thorax Fig. 15. — Posterior View of Thorax 
IN A Natural State. Compressed and Deformed by Stays. 

ward by the diaphragm, and elevated by the ab- 
dominal muscles during expiration. Fashionable 
women are apt to have large abdomens. If nature 



BREAD AND BUTTER. Ill 

is thwarted in her work in one direction she seeks 
another, and tries by what in other directions 
would seem heroic effort, to make up for what is 
lost by interfering. So if women will have small 
waists they generally have large stomachs, and they 
have no right to grumble at the disgusting de- 
formity. The stomach must go somewhere, if not 
under, and protected by the ribs as God designed. 
It must hang, as it often does, like a bag. In this 
position the circulation is imperfect, digestion is 
impaired, and an abnormal growth often is seen. 
Sometimes it is so much enlarged as to lie upon 
the legs when sitting. There is only one way to 
cure this : enlarge the waist to the fullest possible 
extent, and rub the bowels upward and the body 
generally, an hour or more daily. 

It is not in the same position when empty as 
when filled. The spleen lies behind it, the left 
lobe of the liver in front, and the heart directly 
above it. In inflammation of the stomach the pain 
is often referred to the heart, and accompanied by 
palpitation. Persons often imagine they have 
heart disease from this cause. 

The lacteals are minute vessels which commence 
in the mucous coat of the small intestines. Their 
office is to gather up the particles of nutrition 



112, 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



which the food contains, and carry them into the 

general circulation. 
These lacteal vessels 
are very numerous, 
almost ten thousand 
to the square inch. 
Their extrerne fineness 
renders it necessary 
that the food should 
be thoroughly d i s - 
solved, and diluted 
with the gastric fluids 
before it can be re- 
ceived into the circu- 
lation. From the in- 
testines these vessels 
pass between the 
membranes of the me- 
sentary to small glands 
which they enter ; 
they then transmit a 
less number of larger 
branches to a second 




Fig. i6. — Stomach and Great Blood- 
vessels, 



I. Upper portion of the oesophagus. 2. 
Arch of the aorta. 3. Lower portion of 
the oesophagus. 4. Vertebral column. 5. 
Vena cava ascendens. 6. Pancreas. 7. 
The cut edge of the diaphragm. 8. Great 
cul-de-sac of the stomach. 9. Cardiac ori- r 1 1 j 

fice of the stomach. 10. Pyloric orifice of railgC Of glands, and 
the stomach. 11. Spleen. 12. The peri- - . 

toneal coat of the stomach partially turned SO On, anu attCr paSS- 
off. 13. Right kidney. 14. Lower curva- . , 

ture of the duodenum. 15. Ascending IHg SCVCral SUCCCSSlVC 
vena cava. 16. Abdominal aorta. 17. A r ,1 1 1 

section of the lower bowel (rectum). rangCS OI tlieSe glanQ- 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 



113 



ular bodies, greatly diminished in number, but in- 
creased in size, they proceed to and pour their con- 
tents into a large duct or sac in the lower part of the 
abdomen. This white blood 
then rises to the left side of 
the neck, and makes a bend 

Fig. 17 exhibits the course and termination 
of the thoracic duct. i. Arch of the aorta. 
2. Thoracic aorta. 3. Abdominal aorta and 
its branches. 4. Arteria innominata, divid- 
ing into right carotid and right subclavian. 
5. Left carotid. 6. Left subclavian. 7. Su- 
perior cava, formed by the union of 8, the 
venae innominatae, and then by the junction 
(9) of the internal jugular and subclavian at 
each side. 10. Greater azygos vein. 11. 
Termination of the lesser azygos in the 
greater. 12. Receptaculum chyli ; several 
lymphatic trunks are seen opening into it. 
13. Thoracic duct, divided opposite the 
middle of the dorsal vertebrae into two 
branches, which soon reunite ; the course of 
the duct behind the arch of the aorta and 
left subclavian artery is shown by a dotted 
line. 14. The duct making its turn at the 
root of the neck, and receiving several lym- 
phatic trunks before terminating in the ve- 
nous circulation. 15. Termination of the 
trunk of the right lymphatic duct. 

forward and downward and 
empties into the left sub- 
clavian vein, on its way to the 
heart. (If the food is too ^''s- t7.-lymphatic center. 
rich, the blood is filled with impurities, and pimples 
on the face, a rough skin, or some other trouble re- 




114 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

veals it.) In the subclavian vein this white blood is 
mixed with the old worn-out blue blood, and sent to 
the lungs to be purified. It there parts with the poi- 
son carbonic acid, and takes in its place oxygen ; 
it is then returned to the heart to be sent to every 
portion of the body. Blood is the only vehicle 
which carries life and takes away the poison. The 
whole quantity of blood is usually about one-fifth 
of the entire weight of the body. It all passes 
through the heart every five minutes, or less. 

The net-work of vessels, injected after death with 
a substance which hardens them in order to make 
dissection possible, makes a beautiful specimen in 
Mott's Anatomical Museum, in New York. Their 
extreme fineness is marvelous, and we know that 
we can not penetrate the skin with the finest needle 
without wounding some of them. 

Everybody has a relish for good, pure blood ; it 
tells wherever it exists, and is a better heritage 
than gold. It is made entirely of the food we eat. 
To know how to make it in our children, and there- 
by to improve not only their bodies, bu,t their 
mental and moral natures, we must learn the art of 
cooking rightly the kinds of food best adapted to 
supply the waste of their bodies. 

The liver is a large gland appended to the ali- 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 



115 




Fig. 18. — Abdominal Cavity. 



In Fig. 18 the intestines are mostly removed. L, L. The liver, turned up to 
show its under surface. G. Gall-bladder. P. Pancreas. K, K. Kidneys. S. 
Spleen. A. Descendiag aorta. V, V, Ascending vena cava. R. Rectum. 
B. Bladder. 



Il6 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

mentary canal, and is the largest organ in the body. 
It weighs about four pounds, and performs the 
double office of separating impurities from the old 
blood, and of secreting bile. On the under surface 
of the liver is a membranous sac, called the gall- 
cyst, which is a reservoir for bile. It sometimes 
becomes closed by calcareous deposits and large 
gall-stones, which either fill it and check the flow 
of bile (which must of course prove fatal), or pass 
into the alimentary canal. The suffering at first is 
most intense, then suddenly disappears. This dis- 
ease is known by its sudden approach and sudden 
departure from other similar affections, or other 
pains which simulate it. This gall-cyst is often 
packed solid with stones as large as peas, and 
rough like peppercorns. This roughness makes 
them cling to each other, and sometimes, as before 
stated, entirely close the canal. A wine-glass of 
olive-oil used daily cures many cases of gall-stones. 
It should be taken before breakfast. 

When food comes in contact with the stomach 
it should be empty. It immediately pours out 
from its cells a powerful solvent called gastric 
juice. The presence of the food in the stomach 
also causes its muscular fibers to contract, and as 
one set goes around and the other straight across, 



BREAD AND BUTTER. II7 

their action is antagonistic, and the food is rolled 
over and over from one end of the stomach to the 
other, until each portion is saturated with gastric 
juice. This softens it into a pulpy mass of creamy 
consistence. It is not all changed at once, but as 
fast as it is changed it passes through the pyloric 
orifice into the duodenum. The amount of gastric 
juice secreted does not depend upon the quantity 
of food taken, but upon the requirements of the 
system ; for every ounce of food the body requires 
there is secreted four ounces of digestive fluid, 
Vv^hich prepares it for, and accompanies it into, the 
circulation. For one new recruit, nature sends out 
four old soldiers to prepare the new one for its 
mission and cycles of renewal. It is of the greatest 
importance that this be remembered, and that we 
not only learn what is best for the needs of the 
body, but how much is necessary to keep the supply 
equal to the waste. Only a definite portion can 
be dissolved ; if more is taken than the body re- 
quires it is rolled over and over again, the little 
door of the pyloric orifice refusing to let it pass 
until tired, and seemingly hopeless, it at last, some- 
times after hours of watchfulness, opens, and seems 
to say, '* If you will, you may destroy yourself." 
Dyspepsia, for which this nation is famous, would 



Il8 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

shortly disappear if people could be induced to eat 
the right kind and only the proper amount of food, 
taking little or no drink with it, depending entirely 
upon the digestive fluids, the saliva, gastric juice, 
and bile. After the gastric juice is thoroughly in- 
corporated with the food it is called chyme ; this is 
conveyed into the duodenum, and not only excites 
it to action, but also the liver and pancreas. The 
duodenum secretes mucous, the liver bile, and the 
pancreas pancreatic juice. By the action of these 
fluids the chyme is converted into chyle, and re- 
siduum. The bile has nothing to do with the food 
in the stomach. In the healthy state there is no 
bile in the stomach ; if bile is ejected in vomiting, 
it shows that not only the action of the stomach is 
inverted, but also that of the second stomach or 
duodenum. A knowledge of this fact would save 
a vast number every year from swallowing emetics 
and cathartics to rid the stomach of bile. It can 
in this way be ejected from the most healthy 
stomach, and the character of the drug taken to 
produce this effect makes the kind and the color of 
the fluids ejected, instead of the disease, as many 
suppose. The contents of the stomach of a healthy 
man, and of a sick or feeble one, are not distin- 
guishable by the finest chemical test. This shows 



BREAD AND BUTTER. II9 

how much better able a healthy man is to bear 
medicines than the sick, to whom, in all cases, they 
are given instead. 

Physicians nowadays do not tell their patients, 
as of old, that the stomach is foul and needs cleans- 
ing ; and if they give remedies for biliousness, usually 
give them to stimulate the liver. This sometimes 
helps to complete the process of digestion in the 
bowels, so that the bile be not absorbed into the 
muscles, which is revealed by the yellow skin and 
eyeballs. It would be difficult for the' medicine to 
get at it after its absorption, and if there is more 
than nature can dispose of, it would be an excellent 
plan to stop eating a day or two, and let this appa- 
ratus rest ; in many cases, this is sufficient to set all 
things right again. 

The chyle and residual matter is passed over the 
mucous surface of the small intestines by the peri- 
staltic action of their muscular coat. This peristaltic 
or vermicular action is caused by the ribbon-like 
muscle before mentioned, which extends the entire 
length of the intestinal canal, and if its power and 
tone are diminished by medicines, want of exercise, 
or an improper mode of dressing, too much bile is 
absorbed with the food, and the complexion suffers 
either in color or smoothness, perhaps both. Loose 



120 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

clothing should be worn, and vigorous exercise 
taken for one or two hours after meals ; the action 
of the stomach and intestines is then stimulated to 
do their work in the time intended. A constipated 
condition of the bowels is almost sure to follow 
slow digestion. The stool which is filled with 
poison and the old worn-out tissues of the body, is, 
in many instances, deprived of these poisons by 
their being reabsorbed into the body. A young 
lady once appealed to me to cure her freckles ; after 
becoming acquainted with her habits, I had no dif- 
ficulty in doing so, or, rather, in teaching her how 
to cure them herself, as they were simply a deposit 
of the impurities which should have been thrown 
out of the system daily through the bowels. She, 
unfortunately, belonged to that class of young ladies 
who think it vulgar to have a movement of the 
bowels, and she often went an entire week without 
any inclination, the consequence of long disobe- 
dience to nature's demands ; she then resorted to 
cathartics, and had the week's work done up in a 
hurry. Such habits are sure to bring disaster. 

The stool, in a natural state, is in a partially fluid 
or soft condition ; but if it remain twenty-four hours 
longer than it should, it becomes hard, and almost 
manufactured into bullets. This is not a very pleas- 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 



121 



ant thing to talk about, but a much more unpleasant 
one in effect, not to be understood. The ills which 
arise from habitual constipation are too numerous 
to mention here, but will be referred to in other 
chapters. 

Fig. 19 reveals the 
importance of suffi- 
cient room to insure 
the peristaltic motion 
of the bowels when 
the stool is passing. 
If they are crowded, 
this worm-like move- 
ment is impossible, 
and constipation is 
the result. 

As the food moves 
along over this mu- 

^ Fig. 19. — The Large Intestines. 

COUS coat it comes in i. The end of the ileum. 2. Appendicula 

VV. 4-U vermiformis. 3. The coecum, or caput coli. 

contact Wltn the ^^ xhe transverse colon. 5. The descending 

mouths of the lac- ^°^°"- ^' '^^/ sigmoid flexure. 7. Com- 
mencement of rectum. 8. ihe rectum. 9. 

teals which bv it are '^^^ anus. The levator-ani muscle is shown 
on each side. 

stimulated to drink 

up their share of the nutriment. Food called nu- 
trient may, or may not, be so, to different tempera- 
ments. The old sajjing, what is food for one is 




122 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

poison for another, is absolutely true, and great care 
is required in selecting the right kind of food, as 
well as exercise, for the different constitutions in the 
same family. Their stomachs are as unlike as their 
faces, and many times more so, and one person will 
thrive on food upon which another will starve. 

Healthy digestion requires the strict observance 
of four rules : first, the quantity of food taken ; 
second, its quality ; third, the manner in which it 
is taken ; and fourth, the condition of the system 
when it is taken. The quantity of food necessary 
for the health of the body varies ; age, occupation, 
temperament, temperature, habits, amount of cloth- 
ing, health and disease, are among the circumstances 
which produce this variation. Children and youth 
require the kind of food best adapted to the growth 
of the different parts of the body. The more rapid 
the growth, the greater the demand for food, the 
keener the appetite, and the rnore vigorous the di- 
gestion. After we attain full growth, if the same 
amount of food be taken, with no increase of labor, 
the digestive apparatus will become diseased. This 
is one reason why grown people oftener have liver 
complaint than children ; more food than the sys- 
tem requires is taken, and more bile than is needed 
is manufactured, consequently the organs enlarge 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 1 23 

and lose their activity, and the vigor of the whole 
body is diminished. Should the body become ema- 
ciated by disease or fasting, the increased appetite 
may be indulged judiciously until the usual size is 
regained. The weight of the body is changing con- 
stantly ; the greater the action the greater the 
change, and food is required according to the activ- 
ity. A laboring man who perspires freely, needs a 
greater amount of food than the student, because 
the particles of matter are more rapidly moved 
through the vessels of the skin, lungs, kidney, liver, 
etc. Their places must be filled with new atoms, 
and carried to all parts of the body. There is a 
demand for this supply of food, and we call it 
hunger, and refer the feeling to the stomach. It is, 
in reality, no more in the stomach than in the brain 
or feet, but a want of every part of the body. The 
union of oxygen with carbon and hydrogen, which 
the food and drink contain, generates heat. This 
is greatest in winter usually, because of greater 
vigor and activity in the system, and we conse- 
quently require more food than in warm weather. 
Persons who have insufficient food require more 
clothing than well-fed people. I can understand 
why the poor require more clothing, and account 
for their hollow eyes and pinched cheeks, and when 



124 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

administering to their needs we should not forget to 
teach them the laws which govern their health. 
There would be much less poverty if the poor and 
lower classes knew how to keep their health. The 
idea that the poor are healthier than the rich is not 
complimentary to the rich, or to their intelligence. 
Good food, pure air, the right kind and amount of 
clothing, plenty of outdoor exercise, favor the 
longest and healthiest life. As the warm season 
approaches, before the removal of thick flannels, if 
we lessen the quantity of our food the strength will 
remain unimpaired, and we shall not feel the de- 
bility which is usual in spring-time. Food taken 
into a weak stomach does not strengthen or in- 
vigorate. It is like a weak person undertaking to 
carry a heavy load, and only prolongs the weakness. 
How often the fond mother injures the sick child 
by giving it food which can not be digested and the 
system can not dispose of. Physicians find more 
overfed children among the wealthy than underfed 
among the poor. God gave us reason to guide our 
affections. 

An overdistended stomach often induces a state 
of faintness. A lady who was in the habit of eat- 
ing at all hours of the day, was very subject to faint- 
ing fits, and during one of them sent for me. She 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 12$ 

had partaken of her regular meals, and of milk 
punch and crackers every hour during the day, and 
yet was so faint as to feel alarm. All she needed 
or received was a regulated diet, and by adhering 
to it had no return of her trouble. The reason of 
this languor and depression of the strength is want 
of more blood power to do the work ; and more 
nerve which can only come with intervals of abso- 
lute rest. The doctors who have in different parts 
of the country established what are called " Fast- 
cures," or cures brought about by long abstinence 
from food, may prove a blessing, where there is not 
sufficient self-control to follow the educated reason. 
When people are troubled with sour stomach, or 
what is termed heart-burn, it is probable that too 
much food has been taken, and instead of digesting 
it is simply fermenting, and eructations of gas fol- 
low, which is, to say the least, uncomfortable. 

When persons intend making an extraordinary 
effort, either mental or physical, they should take 
less, instead of more food, for one meal at least. 
Always stop eating before the appetite is satisfied. 
Taste and appetite are often confounded, and we 
eat while food relishes ; this, instead of supplying a 
need of the system, simply gratifies the palate. 

I shall now speak of different kinds of food, and 



126 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

show the importance of having it simple and thor- 
oughly cooked, and not spoiled with seasoning. 

Corned beef should be put into boiling water 
and boiled five hours or more, until the bone slips 
out easily, and it becomes very tender. It takes 
thirty minutes longer to digest corned beef than 
fresh roasted or broiled, consequently it should not 
be used so frequently. Meat should never be fried 
and should never be put into water to wash it. If 
there is need (and there is not if you have a clean 
butcher), a wet cloth should be used, and in no case 
should it be laid in water for a moment. Corned beef 
should be dropped into boiling water. If put into 
cold the juices are extracted before it is cooked. 
Boiling water makes a covering by quickly cooking 
the outside fibers so that the juices are retained in 
the meat. Southdown mutton should be cooked 
in the same way. Chickens, turkeys, and wild game, 
such as partridges, quail, etc., are very healthful 
food. Soups not too highly seasoned are for most 
persons healthful. Fruit and vegetables should 
constitute more of our daily food. Cabbage should 
be eaten raw, as it digests in two hours, while 
cooked it requires four and a half. Beans contain 
more nutriment than any fruit or vegetable. Noth- 
ing is so important as the bread we eat, and tables 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 12/ 

should never be spread in an enlightened commu- 
nity without good wheat-meal bread upon them. 
In all white flour the ingredient which makes bone 
is, to a gneat extent, removed. 

The bran in graham flour does not so easily digest 
on account of its coarseness, and its admixture with 
its silicious bark. In fine flour from the entire 
wheat, the gluten is preserved ; this makes bone and 
muscle, cures constipation, and is much richer in 
flavor than the ordinary white flour. It makes better 
cake and pies (if people will eat them) than the white. 
This flour is made in different parts of the country, 
and will, we trust, soon take the place of that now 
generally in use. This bread will furnish material 
for the teeth, and when in general use, the dentists 
may not have as lucrative employment as at the 
present time. Great care should be taken to pre- 
serve the teeth, as they play an important part in 
digestion, as well as in one*s appearance. A plain 
woman with beautiful teeth, well taken care of, is 
more attractive than a handsome face with bad 
teeth. 

Rye and Indian meal steamed two or three hours 
before baking, makes delicious bread. Melted but- 
ter does not digest as easily as cold, and persons 
with weak stomachs should not use it. 



128 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

Hot biscuit, rolls, pancakes, and muffins are not 
as healthful as bread, and should not be eaten. 
Tapioca, sago, rice, etc., should be eaten for desert 
instead of so much rich pastry made of lard. 

Veal is among the forbidden articles of diet for 
persons with weak digestive organs. Geese and 
ducks are not healthy. Cakes, all condiments, 
mince pies, and confections, are too concentrated, 
and should not be eaten. The most easily digested 
food is not always best ; the stomach is like the 
muscles, and exercise within proper limits strength- 
ens it. 

A very important idea is to select food adapted 
to the distensible character of the stomach and in- 
testines. They are like rubber, and contract on 
themselves. The stomach is full whether we swal- 
low a gill or a pint, and the same is true of the in- 
testines. If the food is too condensed, the bulk will 
not be sufficient to distend them in order to pro- 
duce the motion necessary to dissolve the food, or 
for the lacteals to absorb it. If the food does not 
contain sufficient nutritious matter, the digestive 
apparatus will soon become weakened because of 
inaction. For this reason food should be carefully 
selected to suit the wants of each temperament. If 
at any season of the year there is a tendency to 



BREAD AND BUTTER. I2g 

summer complaint, the articles that contain the 
least waste should be selected ; but if there is in- 
activity, that which contains the greatest amount 
of waste should be used, in order to stimulate the 
muscular contraction of the bowels. 

Vegetable food is better adapted for children 
than meat, which is too stimulating. In traveling, 
changes in diet should be made gradually. 

If one meal follows another too quickly, before 
the stomach has had time to rest, the gastric cells 
will not be well filled with juice, and the contrac- 
tion of the muscular fibers will be imperfect. Of 
all the organs in the body none require such abso- 
lute rest as the stomach. The feebler the person, 
the more strenuously should this rule be observed. 

If the food is not mixed with saliva, but swallow- 
ed with tea or coffee, to wash it down, digestion is 
retarded ; and if food is not eaten slowly, more 
food gets into the stomach than is sufficient for 
nutrition, and indigestion follows. Rapid eating 
and imperfect mastication are the prevailing cause of 
indigestion nowadays. No drink should be allowed 
at meals ; then the gastric juice acts directly on the 
food and dissolves it much sooner and easier than 
if weakened by drinks. Water should be freely 

taken an hour or two before meals, when the 
6* 



130 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

stomach is empty, and long enough before to have 
it absorbed ; then when the food is swallowed, the 
gastric cells are filled with a sufficient quantity of 
juice to digest it easily. 

Food should never be taken immediately after 
severe exertion of body or mind ; at such times 
there is too much blood in some parts of the hody> 
and too little in others. Rest restores the equi- 
librium. From thirty to sixty minutes' rest should 
precede and follow meals, to give the stomach all 
the power needed. 

More work may be accomplished than is often 
done by people who rush to their meals, and eat in . 
a hurry, and again rush to their work, as if their 
lives depended on how little enjoyment they could 
possibly get along with. An English gentleman 
made an experiment on two dogs ; he fed them 
both, and shut one up in a dark room, and sent the 
other for game. After an hour .he killed both, and 
found the food in the one which had been shut up 
was nearly digested ; w^hile that in the one which 
had used his muscles was unchanged. The Spanish 
fashion of lounging, or having a siesta after dinner, 
is far preferable to that of our Anglo-Saxon race 
who have become famous for rushing things. In 
persons of sound health this law may seem to pass 



BREAD AND BUTTER. I3I 

With impunity ;' but nature, though lenient, will 
sooner or later assert her claims. 

Observation shows that disease, habits, the state 
of the mind, and other circumstances, exert an in- 
fluence on the appetite. We all know if we are 
ever so hungry, and the postman brings us a letter 
containing bad news, our appetite is gone. The 
reason is, the brain withholds its stimulus. The 
less care and business we bring to our meals, and 
the more cheerfulness and wit, the easier will be 
digestion. Three hours should elapse after eating 
before going to bed. You who have studied the 
physiology of the schools remember the story of 
the farmer who ate one-half a mince-pie before go- 
ing to bed ; he became annoyed with unpleasant 
dreams ; among others he fancied he saw his dead 
father. He became alarmed and sent for his doc- 
tor, who after patiently hearing the case, advised 
him to eat a whole pie, and he might then possibly 
see his grandfather. 

Nothing favors digestion more than a proper 
care of the skin. Horsemen understand that to 
keep a horse in the best health his skin must receive 
great care. If it were a law that every working 
person should take a sponge bath daily, it would 
be a good thing not only for the individual, but for 



132 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

those in company with him. If the twenty-eight 
miles of drainage through the skin is not kept free 
by frequent baths, working people will have rheu- 
matism, and sedentary people dyspepsia. Sitting 
upright favors digestion. 

Good oatmeal and wheat-meal should take the 
place of all hot cakes. This, with raw fruit or a 
baked apple, baked or steamed potatoes, is a suffi- 
cient variety for any breakfast or supper. One kind 
of meat selected from those allowed, one of vege- 
tables, besides potatoes, bread, and butter, is all 
the variety any one should provide for dinner. 
Cracked wheat and wheat-meal contain the phos- 
phates, and a selection from the various wheat and 
oatmeal preparations should constitute the suppers. 

If ladies would spend more time in learning 
these rules, the world, and especially the little 
world in their own families, would make greater 
progress heavenward than many now are doing. 
And in this connection I wish to call attention to 
a new work, published by Fowler & Wells, called 
" Health in the Household,'' by Susanna W. Dodds, 
M.D., the most comprehensive work on the health- 
ful preparation of food ever published. (Price, 
$2.00.) . 

If I have my way, I intend to live to see an en- 



BREAD AND BUTTER. 1 33 

tire change in cooking as done by Americans. 
The French can make a better meal for twenty- 
five cents than we can for a dollar. They under- 
stand that good cooking is the mother of the arts 
and sciences. Unless food is appetizing, the glands 
will not pour out sufficient juices to digest it. 
The quality of brain and thought depend upon 
proper food and good digestion ; sound minds re- 
quire sound bodies. Without perfect health our 
usefulness is impaired or suspended ; and even if 
we have ever so much wealth, we are unhappy, and 
often make others so. It is our privilege, to the 
latest day of life, to be full of spontaneous sympa- 
thies and enthusiasm. We need never grow so old 
that we can not feel a thrill of kindred delight in 
observing the pleasures of the young, and in watch- 
ing their glad and eager faces. 

The bringing about of this state of health and its 
attendant blessings, is emphatically the work of 
woman. 

Intemperance in eating is sometimes as great a 
sin as in drinking. We do not see its results as 
quickly, yet the constitution is slowly and surely 
being undermined by it. The ignorance and care- 
lessness of women are at the bottom of this. We 
all like to see our tables look a little nicer than our 



134 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

neighbors'. By constantly stimulating an unnatu- 
ral appetite for dainties, we lay the foundation of 
intemperance in other directions. We do not need 
to go to the other extreme and starve, but we 
should all eat to live, and not live to eat. Eat 
regularly, and never more than three times daily. 
Not a particle should be eaten between meals. We 
should stop before eating as long as it relishes. We 
shall then be repaid in our own comfort, and have 
the satisfaction of helping to make a generation of 
healthy men and women, and of curing a nation of 
dyspeptics and drunkards. 



CHAPTER X. 

TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 

To the large army of women and girls, whose 
only thought is how to earn their bread and cloth- 
ing, and to supply it to those dependent upon 
them, this chapter is devoted. All along the lines 
of this army are those who would shine as the 
stars, if their deeds of heroism and self-sacrifice, of 
faithfulness and devotion, could be known. How 
many wives of sick, drunken, or unkind husbands 
toil on year after year, '^hoping against hope,'' 
with no help or sympathy, forgetting self, without 
sufficient food and clothing, and at last sink from 
exhaustion, leaving families of worse than fatherless 
children. Instances of such cases come to the 
knowledge of physicians after all opportunity is 
gone for restoring health or helping them. The 
knowledge which they should have had, would have 
prevented much suffering, and saved their children 
a mother's love and care. 

There are also, besides those who have been 

(135) 



136 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

workers for generations, many who have known 
prosperous days. Hard times have deprived them 
of all means of support. They are without knowl- 
edge of anything which can avail them in lieu of 
money. The brothels or the stage offer them com- 
parative ease and freedom from want ; the number 
who are going down the broad road in these direc- 
tions is fearful to contemplate. Instead of learn- 
ing a trade, or how to cook scientifically, or to 
nurse the sick, they prefer these gilded avenues, 
not knowing that the end is near, and untold 
agonies the reward sure to overwhelm them. 

To-day a beautiful girl called to say there was 
no place in the wide world for her but a choice 
between an uncongenial marriage and the stage; 
she said her voice would not admit of anything but 
mediocrity ; that she must associate with all sorts, 
and be '^ hail fellow well met '* with the lowest. 
To such as she we come with words of cheer and 
encouragement. There is honorable work for all, 
so that each can choose a calling which is not dis- 
tasteful. It is honorable to work. Nothing is 
more pitiable than to see the deterioration and 
ruin which are being wrought with th^ rich and the 
idle. 

It is certain that all whose lives have been of any 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 1 37 

use to the world, and whose memory lives, have 
early and late, in season and out, worked with both 
head and hands. It is just as honorable to make a 
shirt as to paint a picture ; to cook a meal as to 
play an overture on the piano ; to wash and iron 
as to paint china, and do elaborate embroidery ; to 
sweep and dust, and make home desirable and at- 
tractive as to attend parties and gossip about each 
other. 

The ignorance of most workers in regard to keep- 
ing their health is the greatest hindrance to success. 
Those who write or sew should change their posi- 
tions frequently, so that one set of muscles need 
not be too long on the strain. High tables should 
be used for writing and for basting work, so that the 
standing position may alternate with that of sitting. 
By this means more work can be accomplished in a 
day with less fatigue or injury to the health than by 
sitting at one's work from morning till night. The 
bowels and bladder should receive prompt atten- 
tion and the slightest call of nature heeded. Those 
who neglect the bowels soon become constipated, 
and the kidneys take on increased action and soon 
become diseased. The bladder should be relieved 
three times a day at least, and oftener if there be 
any inclination. If the contents of the bladder be 



138 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

retained, reabsorption takes place and the health 
must suffer. The womb is often misplaced by a 
distended rectum or bladder. It is pushed forward 
by a distended rectum and sometimes makes a sharp 
bend (flexion), causing pressure upon the bladder 
and too frequent urination. If it remains long in 
this position it causes great pain at the monthly 
period and is slow to cure. Such patients should 
pay strict attention to the rules for regulating the 
bowels, and, when lying upon the back, make pres- 
sure over the pubic bone (the lower part of the ab- 
domen) and rub the bowels upward. 

When the womb is bent backward upon the rec- 
tum it often produces constipation by obstructing 
the passage. Getting frequently upon the hands 
and knees, carefully observing the rules of diet, and 
injections of hot water usually give relief. 

Sick headaches and many other disorders are 
caused by neglecting to evacuate the bowels daily. 

As the health of working-women is often their 
all, it behooves them to attend scrupulously to the 
conditions which favor it. Attention to things 
which seem trivial in themselves will often save 
protracted illness. Drinking cold water, or hot if 
the cold distresses, an hour before meals and at 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 1 39 

bed-time is sometimes sufficient to cure obstinate 
constipation — that is, if the moment incHnation is 
felt, attention is paid to nature's call. A certain 
hour of the day should form the habit, and, at all 
hazards, be faithful to the time. Judgment should 
be used to fix upon a time the least liable to inter- 
ruption. For girls at service this is often incon- 
venient, but usually with thought and calculation 
can be brought about. If when nature calls it is 
put off, as is often the case, she is offended, and 
will not, in all probability, call again in twenty-four 
hours. I have known girls acknowledge that they 
have felt repeated calls, and urgency even, and 
would put it off a whole week. Such neglect is 
always punished in the ways above mentioned, or 
by a rough skin, or pimples on the face, or some- 
thing more formidable. If the terrible pains which 
some feel during their monthlies are not caused by 
these conditions, they may be by tight bands about 
the waists, corsets, or too heavy clothing about the 
hips. There should be no bands about the hips, 
but the under-garments made continuous from the 
shoulders, and so loose that they would fall over 
the hips if not supported from the shoulders. 
Those who have a supply of drawers can button 



140 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



them on loose sacques or waists worn in place of 
the needless and uncomfortable chemise.^ 





Fig. 20. — Favorite Shoulder Stock- 
ing-Supporter. 



Fig. 21.— NiLSSON Stocking-Sup- 
porter AND Shoulder-Brace. 





Fig. 22.— Peerless. Skirt Supporters. Fig. 23.— Nonpareil. 



* At Mrs. A. Fletcher's, No. 6 E. Fourteenth Street, a variety 
of hygienic under-garments can be obtained"; and to show 
the nature of these improved garments we have secured the 
use of a few illustrations (see Figs. 20-31) from her catalogue, 
which she will send to any address on application. 

For rules and ideas upon healthful dress, as well as many 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. I4I 



The care girls take of themselves the week pre- 
vious to the monthlies affects them favorably or 





Fig. 24.— Union Under Flannels. 



Fig. 25. — Chemise and 
Drawers in One. 




Fig. 26.— Princess Skirt. 




Fig. 27. — Princess Waist. 



useful directions in matters which pertain to the education and 
health of girls, we refer the reader to Mrs. E. R. Shepherd's 
book entitled, ''For Girls: a Special Physiology," price $1.00, 



142 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



otherwise. The long walks which some are always in 
the habit of taking should then be omitted and great 





Fig. 28. — Emancipation Waist. Fig. 29.— Dress Reform Corset 

Waist. 





Fig. 30.— Corded Waist. Fig. 31.— Equipoise Waist. 



published by Fowler & Wells, 753 Broadway, N. Y. The best 
special work for girls and young women ever published. 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. I43 

care used not to take cold. There are very few 
housekeepers who, if they have a good, honest, 
and faithful girl, would not be willing to arrange 
the work, so that during the first two days of the 
monthly she could make it easier than at other 
times. Those who wash and iron will accomplish 
more work in a month if at this time light work is 
done — even if washing is postponed to some other 
day. The blood should not be heated or the mus- 
cles overfatigued at this time. Opera singers 
should not sing during this period, and should 
make it a part of their contract. 

What the girls who do our cooking, eat, is often 
a cause of dyspepsia, headache, and constipation. 
It is difficult perhaps to be a good cook without 
tasting ; but if everything is carefully measured, even 
the pepper and salt used in cooking, much of this 
can be avoided. It would also insure against mis- 
takes, and the mortification felt in being found fault 
with. 

Most ladies would sooner praise than blame 
those who serve them faithfully, and if those who 
serve would more frequently ask advice, they would 
feel less responsibility, and a confidence would be 
established between mistress and maid, increasing 
the happiness of both. Ladies do not tire of teach- 



144 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

ing girls desirous of learning and who will remem- 
ber what they are taught. How often in going the 
rounds of the house the mistress is told that her 
requests have been forgotten. It is no small un- 
dertaking, added to the care of children and the 
demands of society, to study and minister to the 
appetites of the " lords of creation.'' The chagrin 
housekeepers feel at dinner, perhaps with invited 
guests, to have the head of the house ask for some 
dish which he expected, and to be obliged to reply, 
"The cook forgot it," is very trying, to say the 
least. Such things, trivial in themselves, have sent 
many a woman in tears to her private apartments, 
if they did not fall even before she could reach 
them. 

Girls can do no better or wiser thing for their 
own good and that of those they serve than to 
train their memories so that it is impossible, to for- 
get. This accomplishment would help make inter- 
esting a plain face and homely features, and, added 
to honesty and truthfulness, would almost revolu- 
tionize the present order of things. Our habits 
build walls about us when young which we can not 
without great struggles overcome in after-life ; and 
as we are good or bad according to our habits, we 
should constantly study to improve them. It pays 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. I45 

better interest than any savings bank, and is the 
best inheritance we can possess or leave our chil- 
dren. If we rise at six o'clock habitually, we find 
it is no task to awaken at that hour; and if we de- 
sire to change the hour, we have to work diligently 
for a while to succeed. This is a good hour, and 
if we go to bed, as we should, at nine or ten, we 
obtain all the rest and sleep that nature requires. 
If we sit up until midnight or walk the streets, we 
not only feel tired and discouraged, but are unfitted 
for work ; we get out of patience easily, and things 
go wrong generally ; food is burned or under-done ; 
accidents happen which would not if we felt happy 
and refreshed ourselves. 

These are not the worst evils that happen to 
girls who are on the street at night. One of the 
best girls I ever knew was persuaded to walk at 
night with (as she supposed) a nice, respectable 
young man, the son of her employer. She was a 
seamstress, and, after sitting all day, she thought 
it would do her good, and, had she been wise in se- 
lecting her companion, an hour or two of exercise 
would have benefited her ; but, as the days went on, 
she began to stay each night a little later, feeling 
safe because in good company. She, however, be- 
gan to look thin and pale ; her work dragged, her 
7 



146 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

interest in it was gone, and she failed to please her 
mistress. About this time she told me her sad 
story. She had trusted this nice young man too 
far ; he had betrayed her, and she was ruined. I 
sent her from town for a year, and she returned a 
wiser, but a broken-hearted girl ; giving the re- 
mainder of her life to charitable works. She 
learned too late, and to her sorrow, that any man 
who would keep her from her rest and on the street 
after ten o'clock at night, cares for her only so far 
as she can serve him. His devotion ceases when his 
desires are gratified. Girls will find that the men 
who betray are the first to scorn them for their weak- 
ness. Some one has said that nearly all the mis- 
chief in the world is done between ten and twelve 
o'clock at night, and, to keep out of danger, girls 
should never be out after ten unless it is absolutely 
necessary. 

This is a social world, and. those who work need, 
more than any others, to see their friends (and have 
a good time). Nothing is truer than the old adage, 
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." 
Two evenings a week to see and enjoy friends is 
necessary. If employers provide for the social en- 
joyment of help, they, in turn, will not look cross, 
and be disagreeable if unexpected guests are an- 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. I47 

nounced, as they often must be, in all homes worthy 
the name. Nothing annoys a housekeeper more 
than unexpected company, with a cross cook. 
Whatever happens we should keep good-natured. 
If there is good-feeling and sympathy between mis- 
tress and maid, the household machinery will run 
smoothly ; if one or both are out of humor, or there 
is misunderstanding between them, it is apt to ex- 
tend to all the household and prevent enjoyment ; 
it makes the children irritable, and the rough and 
sharp phases of life stand out in relief, while the 
sweet and beautiful are hidden out of sight. If a 
good cook holds possession of the kitchen, all things 
else being equal, the home ship sails so quietly, its 
machinery is so noiseless, its airs so healthy, stran- 
gers wonder where the charm lies. A heavenly at- 
mosphere pervades such a home, whether it be cot- 
tage or palace, and it is far more likely to be the 
former, for the reason that few are required to take 
care of the cottage, while the palace requires end- 
less work, and a great number of workers. Large 
numbers are likely to contain some who do not un- 
derstand the great truth that to be happy we must 
make others so ; they forget the golden rule. 

The great question among thinking people now 
is, who will serve them best, and experiments are 



148 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

being made with people of different nationalities to 
find the honest, faithful, and intelligent help so 
much needed in this country. For a long time the 
colored race held sway ; then old Ireland had it all 
her own way ; now the Germans and Swedes are 
held in esteem, and the Chinaman, too, comes in 
for a share. If I am a true prophet it will come to 
this : a new nationality will spring from all these, 
and if girls are smart enough to go without hus- 
bands, unless they can get those who do not smoke 
or drink, husbands who are honest and industrious, 
who can lay by something each year for a rainy 
day, this new race will be a great improvement on 
any of those mentioned. It is a good thing for the 
country that the large families are among the work- 
ing classes. The children of workers are worth a 
dozen times as much as the children of the rich and 
idle. We have little to fear from the last named, 
however, as there are so few in each family, and, as 
things are going, the race will soon die out. 

There is danger, however, of injuring the children 
of working mothers before birth by overwork, and 
of the rich by underwork or inaction. Working 
mothers, and all mothers, should avail themselves 
of the knowledge which farmers who desire to raise 
beautiful and healthy stock seek diligently to find ; 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. I49 

then will their children possess the strength the 
body needs in battling with life, as well as a brain 
capable of becoming skilled in all departments of 
learning. Nearly all the great and good men of 
past ages have been children of working people, 
who were religious, temperate, and frugal. 

We should not envy the rich, for people of mod- 
erate means and industrious habits are, as a rule, 
far happier than those whose millions are like mill- 
stones about their necks, dragging them down, 
shutting up the avenues of the heart to the needs 
of God's suffering ones. Riches rarely make peo- 
ple generous, but are far more likely to become a 
burden and a snare by causing envy and strife 
among their possessors. " Give us neither poverty 
nor riches." No matter how rich people are, they 
should not squander money. It is almost as wicked 
to waste as to steal. Those who make the most of 
everything and follow the teachings of the Bible, 
which says, ^' Waste not,'' will have a good con- 
science before God, and always find a good home. 
There is nothing like honesty and truth to recom- 
mend one in the world, and if girls understood 
their own interests, they would never have it said 
they were eye-servants. Work half done injures 
the girl more than her mistress ; it makes bad hab- 



ISO MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

its ; it strengthens a careless and indifferent way of 
doing things, which, when they get homes of their 
own, will bring disorder and discomfort, instead of 
frugality, neatness, and tact, which all good men 
want in a wife, and without which home is only an 
empty name. Every man who is worth marrying 
expects a tidy, frugal, and loving wife ; with these 
qualities, and with a knowledge of how to take care 
of the health of a family, any reasonable man will 
be satisfied. 

Girls must be loyal and true to those they serve ; 
they can deceive in a thousand ways if they choose. 
It is easier to cover up faults than to confess them ; 
it is not as good for them in case of accident, like 
the breaking of china, to attempt secrecy ; it will 
be known sometime, and perhaps innocent persons 
may be blamed. ^^ Confession is good for the soul.'' 

We often meet people who are ashamed to ac- 
knowledge they were brought up to work, and by 
all sorts of devices try to deceive in this matter, as 
if it were a disgrace to know how to earn one's own 
bread, ashamed of not being a burden upon friends. 
It should rather be a disgrace to be a pauper, to 
willingly live on the hard-earned savings of others. 
There are many noble examples of the daughters 
of well-to-do people who are unwilling to be a bur- 



TO WORKIXC%"WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 151 

den upon their parents, who are every year joining 
the ranks of working-women, and crowning work 
itself with glory. Their examples will live in his- 
tory centuries after all remembrance of society girls 
has passed away. The light of the former is fixed 
like the stars. The latter give, like the glow-worm, 
only occasional glimpses of unsteady light, fitful 
and delusive. I love to shake a hand which has 
strength in it, even if it be hard and rough ; it is a 
sure token that its possessor is worth something, 
and can earn a living. Soft hands sometimes are 
obliged to work with little strength in them ; it is 
much harder than if they had learned, by degrees, 
in youth. 

There should be order and system in all things ; 
when a meal or a day's work is planned, it is half 
done. There are many girls who never thought of 
a rule to wash dishes by, or to make a bed, or to 
sweep and dust a room, not knowing that half the 
work is saved by carefully studying and planning 
the best and easiest mode of doing it. One reason 
why work seems so hard and diflficult to some is 
that they attempt to do it before they have learned 
how. 

In order to prepare and put dinner upon the ta- 
ble in good order, and serve nicely a variety of 



152 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

dishes, the cook must exercise all the energies of 
her mind ; she must think and act quickly and 
make close calculations in order always to have the 
meal on time. Nothing so provokes ill-temper, or 
puts things out of joint generally in a family, as 
having a late dinner ; children become rebellious 
and unmanageable ; and if the head of the family 
breaks the grim repose which has settled upon his 
face, it will be to denounce the dilatory cook. Un- 
der such circumstances I have heard them aver 
that they could begin at the beginning and put 
upon the table a square meal in half the time it 
would take any cook. I never objected to thei 
making the experiment, thinking it would take away 
some of their assurance. While the family are eat- 
ing, there is usually time, after serving, to wash the 
cooking dishes ; then the kitchen-table is ready for 
the meals to be cleared away in an orderly manner. 
Great care should be used in washing and rinsing 
to avoid cracking and chipping the china. A place 
to drain, and soft, clean towels to dry with, will in- 
sure freedom from sticky and rough china. A suit- 
able dish for each kind of broken food should be 
at hand to insure cleanliness. Most people would 
eat soup at dinner if girls knew how to make a 
variety and always have it palatable. There is 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 1 53 

usually sufficient meat and vegetables remaining 
from each day^s cooking for a good soup without 
buying. The meat should be simmered twenty- 
four hours without boiling ; then it should be 
strained, and chopped vegetables, rice, pearl barley, 
or tomatoes added. After these additions it needs 
careful watching, as it easily burns, and all food is 
spoiled when flavored with scorching. In this way 
a smart cook will not waste an ounce of food in a 
month, and at the same time will furnish a health- 
ful and an economical dish. Once a year in the 
city the meat and pastry cooks of hotels and res- 
taurants have a festival, each supplying a portion, 
and each striving to make the best and most beau- 
tiful things in their line. Girls who do our cooking 
would do well to imitate them, and meet once or 
twice a year, bringing samples of their best bread 
and pastry, and discuss cooking in all its details, as 
well as the importance of neatness and dispatch in 
doing work. 

Girls should make a presentable appearance when 
answering door-bells, and make it a rule when nec- 
essary to tie on a clean apron and roll down sleeves 
before opening the door. Better impressions are 
given people, when entering a house, than if a slov- 
enly or untidy girl ushers them in. 

7* 



154 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

If the worry and care which housekeepers suffer 
on account of ignorant, wasteful, and slovenly help 
could be known, it would arouse the community to 
make adequate provision to remedy it. 

Young mothers need to be relieved from anxiety 
while bearing and raising their children, and al- 
though each woman should before marriage learn 
the details of housekeeping, one brain and one pair 
of hands can not always be relied upon. Servants 
are not always to blame for not knowing the best 
and easiest ways ; many of them were raised in 
poverty, with no opportunity of learning; but light 
is beginning to dawn for all who wish to perfect 
themselves in any department of industry. This 
great need is beginning to arouse individuals who 
are establishing industrial schools in different parts 
of the land, where all work which pertains to home- 
life can be learned, as well as all sorts of handicraft. 
I trust the time is in the near future when a certifi- 
cate of qualification or a diploma will be required 
of all applicants for situations. I hope, also, that 
the State will aid this much-needed work, and re- 
move all children from the degradation which igno- 
rance, crime, and pauperism entail in poor-houses 
and prisons, and educate them in these schools. 
It will cost less to save than to let them grow up 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 1 55 

in sin and shame, thus perpetuating crime and 
criminals. 

Working-women should know that in bearing and 
bringing up children much more depends upon 
them than upon the fathers. To have healthy- 
children, both parents should be healthy ; but dur- 
ing pregnancy, and while nursing, the blood of the 
mother is the food of the child. Milk is purified 
blood. 

If a cool, calculating brain controls her move- 
ments, and prevents her getting heated and irrita- 
ble, her children will be an improvement on those 
of her fretful and complaining neighbor. Children 
know long before they are a year old a frown from 
a pleasant face, and as they are to do nothing but 
imitate for the first few years of their life, it is 
all-important that they have a good example to 
follow. 

It is very hard for a poor woman to stand over a 
wash-tub four or five days every week, until and 
after her child is born, to earn bread for her other 
children and, perhaps, a drunken husband, and not 
feel cross about it. Her milk becomes heated, and 
the child becomes irritable, and sometimes is thrown 
into convulsions from swallowing it. If she, after 
trying a reasonable length of time to reform her 



156 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

husband, does not succeed, she should exercise her 
right to have no more children. 

It is almost impossible for mothers under such 
circumstances to remain in a happy frame of mind, 
and if getting out of patience did them or their 
children any good, I should not remonstrate ; but 
for the sake of innocent children, the mother should 
never, under any circumstances, fret and scold. 
These children feel the unrest which she felt — it 
was born in them ; it urges them on to untruthful- 
ness and vicious habits and practices. It is possible 
to prevent them by surrounding them with happy 
and smiling faces, and with constant amusement 
and employment. 

I can not feel that scolding or whipping chil- 
dren ever reforms them ; they may be awed into 
submission, but are sure to break away from re- 
straint, and repeated punishment hardens them. 
Children should never be threatened, but compelled 
by a strong will-power, and a steady truthful carry- 
ing out of plans, to yield to parents. They detect 
the least shadow of a vacillating spirit, and know' 
how to take advantage of it. 

Be slow in making promises : but if made, let the 
heavens fall before breaking them. Remove temp- 
tations from them, and watch for the amusements 



TO WORKING-WOMEN AND SERVING-GIRLS. 1 5/ 

or diversions which keep them quiet the longest, 
and try to find, while growing, what work is best 
adapted to each. 

Plain food given regularly will not be as apt to 
create a desire for stimulants — as condiments and 
food not conducive to health. Children should 
never be allowed candies or confections. Few peo- 
ple realize that our thoughts are pure and good, 
according to the good or bad food we eat ; the im- 
portance of having the plainest and simplest meal 
made palatable, and eaten in cheerfulness, can not 
be overestimated. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 



From puberty until the cessation of the menses, 
ceaseless activity is going on in the womb. This 

T. Symphysis 
pubis, to upper 
part of which the 
tendon of the 
rectus muscle is 
attached. 2. Ab- 
dominal parie- 
ties. 3. C ollec- 
tion of fat, form- 
ing the promi- 
nence of the 
m o n s Veneris. 
4. Bladder. 5. 
Entrance of left 
ureter. 6. Canal 
of urethra, con- 
verted into a 
mere fissure by 
contraction of its 
walls. 7. Meatus 
urinarius. 8 Cli- 
toris, with its 
prseputium, di- 
vided through 
the middle. 9. 
Left nympha. 
10. Left labium 
majus. II. Me- 
atus of vagina, 
narrowed by the 
contraction of its 

sphincter. 12, 22. Canal of the vagina, upon which the transverse rugae are 
apparent. 13. Thick wall of separation between vagina and rectum. 15. Peri- 
neum. 16. Os uteri. 17. Its cervix. 18. Its fundus ; the cavitas uteri is seen 
along its center. 19. Rectum, showing disposition of its mucous membrane. 
20. Anus. 21. Upper part of rectum, invested by the peritoneum. 23. Utero- 
vesical fold of peritoneum ; the recto-uterine fold is seen between the rectum 
and the posterior wall of the vagina. 24. Reflexion of the peritoneum, from the 
apex of the bladder upon the urachus to the internal surface of the abdominal 
parieties. 25. Last lumbar vertebra. 26. Sacrum. 27. Coccyx. 

is the last organ to become perfected, and exerts a 

powerful influence upon the body. It is as different 

in individuals as are their faces. 
(158) 




Fig. 32.— Viscera of the Female Pelvis. 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 



159 



The womb is pear-shaped, as seen in Fig. 33 ; flat- 
tened at the top, and an inch in thickness ; weighs 
from one to two ounces. The cavity is small com- 
pared to its size, and its walls are half an inch in 
thickness. It is situated between the bladder 
and rectum. It 
grows into and rests 
upon the vagina be- 
low, and its upper 
end leans over the 
bladder ; the mouth 
points toward the 
rectum. It is near- 
ly three inches in 
length, two in width 
at the top, and an 
inch in thickness. 
(In studying this 
wonderful organ, I 
am so overwhelmed 
by its marvelous 
mechanism, and by 
its power to influ- 
ence for good or evil the millions who are to come 
after us, that words seem meaningless when I un- 
dertake to describe it, or to deHneate its functions. 




^ig- 33-— Cavity of the Uterus. 



l6o MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

Volumes have been written upon it, and yet we 
know comparatively little in regard to the momen- 
tous interests which hang upon a knowledge of it.) 

It is composed of cells so minute that not one 
has ever been seen by the naked eye. 

When examined by a strong glass, the muscular 
fiber which is made of these cells, seems to have 
alternate layers of light and dark spots upon them. 
The dark spots are elastic, and when contracting, 
the elevations forming these alternate layers appear 
to play like waves along the fiber ; the average di- 
ameter of these fibers varies from one ten-thou- 
sandth to one twenty-thousandth part of an inch. 
In labor these fibers contract with such force that 
the hand of the accoucher is sometimes caught and 
held, as in a vice, and must remain stationary until 
the pain is off, and the fibers relax. It is the short- 
ening of the womb, by the contraction of these 
fibers, that expels the child. 

The womb is wonderfully strong and elastic. 
Blood-vessels and nerves form most of its sub- 
stance. It is literally a bundle of nerves, and those 
which supply the womb are in sympathy with every 
part of the body. This is the reason the stomach 
and brain of pregnant women suffer. 

When empty the womb will not contain a table- 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. l6l 

spoonful, yet it will grow so as to contain twins, 
two after-births, and from a pint to a quart of water. 
Nature intended this water as a protection for the 
child, and to prevent its adhering to the uterine 
walls. 

The power of the womb is so great that it can 
ordinarily expel its contents, and become nearly as 
small as before pregnancy in a few hours. During 




Fig. 34.— Vessels of the Uterus. 

pregnancy the substance of the womb is greatly 
increased. Many persons suppose that it merely 
stretches its walls to accommodate the growth of 
the foetus ; this is not so ; the walls at full term are 
nearly as thick as in the natural state, and it weighs 
from two to three pounds. The blood-vessels grow 
like the limbs on a tree, constantly sending out 



l62 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



branches which in time become trunks for other 
branches. 

In order that nature's operations may be carried 
on successfully and easily, it is necessary that the 
blood circulate freely, that the womb should be 
healthy, and in its natural position. If the nerves 
be diseased their reflex action is felt to the remot- 
est parts of the body. 




Fig. 35.— The Uterus and its Appendages. 



On both sides of the womb are two hollow tubes 
attached to, and opening into it at one end, while 
the other is spread out like a fringe, and is used to 
grasp the egg, and convey it into the womb; these 
are called fallopian tubes, and are about four inches 
in length. Also on each side are two oval-shaped 
bodies, resembling in size and shape a large almond : 
these are the ovaries which contain the egg. Each 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 163 

ovary contains from fifteen to twenty ova, or eggs, at 
one time, and when ripe they are about the size of 
a pin's head, but vary to the smallest inappreciable 
point ; no two are exactly the same size ; each egg is 
inclosed in a sac or vesicle, and the one nearest ripe 
bursts through fold after fold of membrane, and dis- 
charges itself, either to be carried into the womb for 
impregnation, or lost in the cavity of the abdomen. 
At the change of life (the meno-pause) they stop 
growing. As the existence and perfection of our 
bodies depend upon this miraculous egg, it is of the 
utmost importance that its nature be understood, 
and the means of surrounding it with conditions 
favoring the most perfect development of health 
and beauty, that it may possess all the possibilities 
intended by the Divine Architect. 

When we know, as we do, that this microscopic 
body contains within itself the dispositions of three 
or four generations, their peculiar tendencies to 
health and disease, the color of their skin and eyes, 
and an infinite variety of characteristic traits, 
may we not hope that educated motherhood may, 
in the near future, be able to direct these forces to 
the exaltation and perfection of the race ? 

In a fecundated egg, which is so small that a 
thousand may be held upon the thumb-nail, is con- 



164 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

tained the elements of a new soul, and the principle 
of a new life. It represents an individual who, by 
virtue of what is now contained within it, will be a 
success or a failure, depending in a great measure 
upon what the parents choose to make it. " If we 
are selecting seed to sow in our gardens, how care- 
fully we choose the most perfect, and in watching its 
growth, favor its development by all the knowledge 
chemistry and agriculture have brought us.'* 

We turn in all directions and see improvements 
upon nature in plants and animals. Men en- 
gaged in raising stock are extremely careful in the 
selection, and also in the care of the animals before 
giving birth to their young ; their food and drink 
are daily weighed, their exercise continued just 
long enough to keep the muscles in perfect health ; 
grooms stand ready with brush and comb to take 
the necessary care of the skin the moment exercise 
ceases. The air they breathe,. the beds they sleep 
on, and everything which can be done to benefit 
the embryo is regulated with a care most men 
would do well to imitate in their families. These 
persons compass sea and land to improve on nature, 
and to prevent the multiplication of dwarfed or 
diseased specimens of their kind. 

When the vital principle of the male has found ac- 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 165 

cess to the eggy it is in an active state, and becomes 
imbedded in it, and is for a time nourished by it, 
in this wonderful apartment which the Creator fit- 
ted up so that the work can go on unmolested. 

The womb makes preparation by sending out 
from its walls curtains or envelopes. They wrap it 
around by degrees, and in time form the sac which 
holds the water. The sperm which is furnished by 
the male, is an oval-shaped, flattened body, one 
eight-hundredth of a line in length. A line is one- 
twelfth of an inch, and this divided eight hundred 
times makes a point not appreciable by any of our 
senses, and yet, as before stated, it contains feat- 
ures, expressions, hereditary predisposition to health 
or disease, mentally and physically, color of hair, 
skin, and eyes, and all things which give character 
to the future being. It may become enfeebled by 
disease, intemperance, the excessive use of tobacco, 
and various other causes ; and thus render children 
susceptible to disease, if indeed it is not carried 
into their tissues. 

The eighth day after the egg is impregnated, a 
small, semi-transparent drop may be found adher- 
ing to the side of the womb. Some physiologists 
say if it is attached to the right side, it will be a 
male ; if to the left, a female. This is conjectural, 



l66 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, 

however. On the twelfth day a dark spot may be 
seen, indicating the place of the heart. At the 
twenty-first day it has attained the size of an ant. 
On the thirtieth, the budding projections of the 
legs may be seen ; at three months it is three 
inches long ; and at four, feeble and indistinct 
movements may be felt by the mother. 

Some people contend that before life is felt, the 
foetus may be destroyed without sin, and many 
women resort to some one among the legion of 
modes to destroy the embryo. Could they know 
what sudden destruction follows such a course, they 
would pause before they undertook this murderous 
work. I have seen the mouth of the womb torn, 
as the ear would be if the ring were pulled through 
it, and ulcerated, and the organ dislocated, from 
this cause. Sometimes the health is completely 
broken, the mind weakened, and the victim ren- 
dered miserable for life. This, more than anything 
else, is ruining the health of women, making crip- 
ples and idiots of children, and filling to overflowing 
the prisons, asylums, and poor-houses in our land. 
After all their efforts, they are oftentimes unsuc- 
cessful, and the children are born frequently with 
deformities, and an unrest which urges them on to 
crime, and for which the parents are, in part at 
least, responsible. 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 167 

Is it a wonder that sin in all its hideous forms 
stalks abroad in the land, when the fountains of life 
are thus poisoned ? 

The promise made to Eve, that she should be the 
mother of multitudes of the human race, would 
sound in the ears of women in modern society more 
like a curse. 

Milton says, " Our Maker bids increase ; who 
bids abstain ? '* and dilates upon the relations of 
home and the charities which are born in it, and 
around which cluster all that is loyal, pure, and 
good ; a perpetual fountain of domestic bliss. 

If society could be freed from danger in this di- 
rection, and a healthy desire for large families pre- 
vail, we should feel that the plague had been stayed. 
When this time comes, there will be few who, for 
gold, will ^\ abdicate a throne of glory for a tempo- 
rary wallow in the mire/* 

During pregnancy, the minds of mothers should 
be watched, as well as their bodies, with the greatest 
care ; I have had sad proof that fright or unpleasant 
sights will affect a child in embryo. I was once 
visiting a lady whose child was thrown from a car- 
riage and instantly killed. The father brought its 
dead body and laid it in its mother^s lap, two weeks 
before another came. The eyes of the dead child 
were photographed on the unborn ; it was born 



1 68 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

blind, and always remained so. Had the husband 
prepared the wife for the event, and laid the child 
upon the bed, invoking reason to aid her, the 
calamity might have been averted. 

Another lovely friend was walking in her garden 
at twilight ; a snake ran across her path, lifted its 
head as if it were going to dart at her ; she ran 
into the house terribly frightened, and when her 
child came it had no bony structure to give it 
uprightness and strength. The head was pointed, 
the eyes rolled, and all natural expression taken 
from them. It is now sixteen years of age, and has 
never sat up. It presents a deformed and ghastly 
appearance, and the sweet, sympathizing heart of 
the mother is broken ; had she been on her guard, 
or had an attendant with her, in all probability this 
calamity would have been averted. 

The various diseases of pregnancy should be 
strictly cared for, the diet and bathing attended 
to religiously, and less attention given to making 
elaborate clothing. I confess to great pleasure in 
arranging these little wardrobes to a moderate de- 
gree ; but when women spend their entire time,* for 
weeks and months, indoors, in a sitting posture, 
doing all sorts of fancy and machine work, they 
may calculate upon hard labor. 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 169 

Some will not see their best friends on account of 
their appearance, fearing remarks in regard to their 
condition. It is not God's design that women 
should hide themselves while the building of His 
temple goes on. The fruit of a tree does not hide 
under its leaves. Gestation is not a disease, but a 
favoring condition of health, and restores many to 
health and soundness who had for years suffered 
with weakened organs. 

Husbands should redouble their attentions in an- 
ticipating their wants, calming their fears, and in 
soothing when irritated. They can not guard them 
too carefully. When it is possible, they should be 
surrounded by objects of beauty, and provoked by 
kindness to good deeds. While bearing children, 
the mind and body of the mother should be actively 
employed, not taxed or overworked, but pleasant 
and useful occupation should fill every waking hour. 

Pregnant women should be hopeful ; not one in 
hundreds have need of fear. They should not at- 
tend parties or balls, and should avoid heated rooms 
and excitement. 

Dancing and horseback-riding should not be in- 
dulged in, and crowds and disagreeable people 
avoided. 

Daily exercise in the open air is conducive to 
8 



I70 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

cheerfulness, and the health and safety of both 
mother and child. 

The food should consist of fruit and rice, with 
vegetables, and the bowels kept free by proper diet 
and water-drinking at proper times, as suggested 
elsewhere. The habit of taking laxative medicine, 
frequently, brings incalculable evil. 

Where a difficult labor is feared, no bread should 
be eaten for two months previous to confinement, 
as it contains the elements of bone. 

Much harm has been done by indulging in long- 
ings, and by the use of strong tea, coffee, and stim- 
ulants. 

The teeth should not be operated on ; and the 
feelings of grief, jealousy, and hatred should not be 
indulged. 

It would seem that reason would teach a preg- 
nant woman to wear loose clothing; but I hear 
some say, they wear their dresses as at other times, 
without change. Club-feet have been traced to 
this cause. The bodies of women during gestation 
need the freedom which all animated nature needs, 
to perfect the organization of its offspring. 

As married life is incomplete without children, it 
is even more so when they come uninvited. No 
pleasure so great, no joy so unalloyed, as that of a 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. I/I 

babe born under the right conditions. These pleas- 
ures and joys are divine. Oh, the pity I feel for 
the thousands of unwelcome children which are at 
this moment sending to heaven their wailing cry 
all over this sinful land ! They cry from a deep 
unrest, which urges them on into avenues of sin and 
crime with little or no power to resist. 

The influence of the parents before birth never 
ceases ; when the time of accountability arrives, the 
force which has already gathered in the wrong di- 
rection will, almost surely, still urge them on. 

A prominent author says, there is no such thing 
as a self-made man. Men are what their mothers 
make them, and through mothers God shines into 
the future generations. 

Above all, the law of continence should be kept 
inviolate. Whole families of children have been en^ 
feebled^ and their nervous systems ruinedj because the 
head of the family claimed his marital rights. Strict 
continence, for a month at least previous to con- 
ception, should be enforced. 

If the father is addicted to tobacco or alcoholic 
drinks, or to high living, he must abstain from the 
first two, and his diet must be of the best but 
plainest food. All the moral attributes of his nature 
must undergo rigid discipline and purification. 



172 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

During this month of preparation, which is all 
the chance he will have to stamp his thoughts, 
wishes, and individuality upon the new life, it be- 
hooves him to make the most of his opportunity in 
this, the most important act of his life. 

A woman should, during this period, avoid all 
persons and things which vex and annoy her. 
Husband and wife should occupy separate beds. 

Eminent physiologists say, that if the will be suf- 
ficiently exercised, almost any desired form of the 
human body can be produced, and that the child's 
occupation should be decided upon by the parents 
before conception, without a doubt of its being 
fulfilled. 

Dr. Moore, a high authority, says : ^' Our educa- 
tion begins with our forefathers ''; and in Napheys' 
" Transmission of Life,'' ^ page 224, we read that 
intellectual excellence is generally the result of ages 
of mental cultivation, and the acquired habits of 
life are more certain of transmission than physical 
peculiarities. 

If to have children is a blessing, how much more 



* "The Transmission of Life : Counsels on the Nature and 
Hygiene of the Masculine Function." By G. H. Napheys, M.D. 
Price, $2.00. 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 173 

to be desired are perfect ones. Perhaps not 
one child in a thousand is born under the right 
conditions. The millennium will never come except 
through the loving obedience to ante-natal laws. 
All the churches, temperance societies, and divines 
in the world combined, with all their heavenly in- 
fluences, can not do as much as mothers in the 
months of pre-natal life. If the world could be 
aroused to the importance of this one thought, and 
both parents observe from a month to a year's 
preparation, the prisons and almshouses, hospitals 
and asylums would not require the time and un- 
ceasing labor, nor need the millions of treasure 
which are now used to support them. It is hu- 
mane in government and individuals to build and 
care for these institutions ; it would be a thousand 
times more so, to prevent the need of them. 

" Children born under the right conditions know 
only the bright side of life ; they experience its 
successes, because before birth they took on the joy 
and glory belonging to a soul in harmony with 
God's -laws.'' They must in the next world main- 
tain their supremacy over their unfortunately con- 
ceived fellow-beings. Children have a right to this 
inheritance. It is estimated that a couple having 
five children will in five hundred years have two 



1/4 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

million grandchildren. The importance of having 
good ones stands out in mighty proportions. 

When the world can furnish men with perfectly 
healthy organizations, with well-balanced brains 
and nervous systems, not enfeebled by the causes 
before mentioned, or by too much indulgence of 
the passions ; and mothers whose education shall 
include a thorough knowledge of physical laws, 
without hereditary taint, we may look for a genera- 
tion improved beyond our present power to calcu- 
late. 

Most persons who have become celebrated for 
character, genius, or valor were the fruit of ardent 
and vigorous love. They were children of parents 
remarkable for physical strength, harmony of mind, 
and refinement of the feelings. Persons of strong 
and sound bodies beget vigorous children ; but ex- 
cess in labor, mental or physical, enfeebles the off- 
spring. This is why the simple rustic may beget 
children of high physical and moral powers, while 
men of genius who over-exert their mental faculties 
often engender children feeble both in mind and 
body. 

" Prolonged abstinence has in all cases a tendency 
to make healthy children. The father of Montaigne 
returned, after many years' absence, from the wars 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 1/5 

of Italy, being during his absence strictly conti- 
nent, and begat his celebrated son." 

If the healthy mind is educated, and all the pow- 
ers of nature aid : a nervous force, a strength of 
vitality will be added to our children before this 
"gate of gifts is closed forever," which no training 
can afterward impart. 

When men and women understand the sacred- 
ness of the marriage relation, looking upon it not 
as a means to acquire wealth, or the gratification of 
the passions, but as a union of soul — an expanding 
of their higher faculties, a union which, in respect 
to the laws of their being — they shall bless instead 
of curse coming generations, will the tide of crime 
which now desolates the land be stayed, and the 
corrupt current of life be purified. " Then shall 
the human race start into new life, and drawing 
nearer to God, be pervaded by the harmony of His 
Spirit, and irradiated by the brightness of the spirit 
world." 

Youth and beauty are desired by mankind, es- 
pecially by women, and they should understand 
and appreciate the fact that in bearing children, 
with the conditions properly adjusted, beauty is 
retained, if not acquired, and old age put a long 
way off. 



176 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

Prof. Duncan says that marriage at a tender age, 
before women are perfectly developed and capable 
of administering to all the wants of their children, 
is not only less fertile, but their children also in- 
crease the rate of mortality. 

The proportion of children who arrive at ma- 
turity is greater in those who are the fruit of 
women from twenty to thirty-five years of age. 
The mortality among women is greatest in those 
who marry between fifteen and twenty. The rea- 
son is, the organs have not ceased to grow, and de- 
velopment is imperfect. 

Those who have the care of young girls should 
heed these facts. The exceptions to this rule 
should not govern the minds of parents or guar- 
dians. If more heed were given to experience, and 
less to the desires of youth, many beautiful lives 
would be spared to bless the world by their shin- 
ing. 

It was considered a disgrace in Bible times not 
to have children ; it should be so now, if it de- 
pends upon the will or pleasure of the parents. It 
is desolate indeed for the aged to wander up and 
down the earth alone, to sit by the silent hearth- 
stone thinking of the hereafter in which they can 
take no part. - 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 1 77 

When families do not have children, the cause is 
generally attributed to the woman. Sterility 
among men is rare, although disease may render 
them so. It is of the greatest importance to ascer- 
tain the cause, in order, if possible, to overcome it. 
According to the latest observations, more than 
half of the married women who are sterile have be- 
come so by using some kind of preventive, thus 
avoiding the responsibilities of married life. I am 
unable to explain the reason, but conclude nature 
becomes tired of being cheated, and refuses to for- 
give such wicked transgression. Another cause is 
too frequent indulgence of the sexual appetite. 
As proof of this, I have advised a separation of 
months. The result proved successful. Generally 
women are sterile about two weeks in each month, 
after the ovum (or egg) passes, which is usually 
from two to twelve days after the menses ; concep- 
tion can not take place until another leaves the 
ovary, and is carried through the fallopian tube into 
the uterus. Many persons who do not desire chil- 
dren avail themselves of this knowledge. There 
are conditions in families when it is just as much 
duty to avoid increasing them as to provide for 
those already there. We have reason given us to 

use, and should not hide it under blind chance or 
8* 



1/8 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

superstition. Very few women conceive while 
nursing; it is best for the nursing child, the 
mother, and the child unborn that they should not, 
and continence should be observed at this time. 
I have known instances, however, where a woman 
has borne twelve children without ever having a 
monthly period. In one case of this kind, the 
mother died at the birth of the twelfth child from 
exhaustion and overwork, and six of the children 
were too feeble to raise. With a knowledge of 
nature's laws, she could have regulated the number 
of her children, and lived to enjoy and bless them, 
as all families are who grow up under the care and 
love of a good mother. 

It is estimated by our most eminent and scien- 
tific writers, that one woman in eight is sterile ; be- 
sides the causes already mentioned, there are oth- 
ers, such as deficient ovaries, or fallopian tubes, 
strictures in the womb or vagina, acid or alkaline 
action of the fluids, flexions, and many which are 
conjectural ; it is also caused by ulceration, obliqui- 
ty, and many forms of displacement, and by leucor- 
rhoea. Most of these cases can be cured, and many 
more would be, were there enough thoroughly edu- 
cated women who by professional eminence and 
responsibility could take the entire charge of this 



THE UTERUS AND ITS APPENDAGES. 1 79 

department of medicine. An eminent surgeon told 
me not long since that he did not believe there was 
a true-hearted doctor in the land, who did not in 
his heart feel this was woman's work, and said he 
would labor to wrest it from the hands of men, and 
to confer it on woman, " As it was in the beginning 
and ever should be.*' The first male accoucher 
who ever officiated attended the mistress of Louis 
XIV., about two hundred years ago ; and it was 
thought so disgraceful that to save his life and keep 
him from violence, he was conducted to her apart- 
ments in female attire. The saddest part of it is, 
that mortality among women and children has 
greatly increased since this innovation. 

The idea that women must experience voluptu- 
ous sensations in order to conceive is untenable, 
and so proven by thousands of mothers who have 
borne large families. In fact, and I am sorry to 
say it, most of the children now living came into 
the world under protest. 



CHAPTER XII. 

MENSTRUATION, AND CARE DURING IT. 

From twelve to fifteen years of age, in temperate 
latitudes, girls begin to menstruate, but it has been 
delayed till the thirtieth year, and pregnancy in the 
meantime has taken place. Climate, constitution, 
social position, and various other causes determine 
the period. In hot countries, and cities, and in 
high life girls menstruate from two to three years 
earlier than those who live in the country, away 
from the society of men, or in cold latitudes. The 
quantity of the discharge is much less in cold cli- 
mates. The Esquimaux menstruate only in sum- 
mer, and then very scantily. The menstrual fluid 
is unlike blood, as it does not coagulate when, the 
uterus is in a healthy state ; this is accounted for 
by its admixture with mucus, which nature fur- 
nishes to keep it in a fluid state. As a rule, the 
period should last from three to five days, but it 
often extends to seven or eight. The quantity 

varies from six to eight ounces, but varies with 
(i8o) 



^ 



MENSTRUATION, AND CARE DURING IT. l8l 

climate, constitution, and habits, as before stated. 
The monthly should occur once in twenty-eight 
days, and continue from thirty to thirty-five years, 
unless interrupted by pregnancy or disease. The 
. discharge is probably the result of throwing off the 
old membrane, which ruptures some of its cells 
and causes the flow. Some writers attribute it to 
the bursting of a grafifian vesicle, and escape of the 
ova, or egg ; others attribute it to nervous excite- 
ment, or an exalted state of the nervous system. 
At the time of puberty a great change comes over 
the mental and physical condition of girls ; their 
breasts begin to enlarge, and the body rounds into 
aiore beautiful proportions. Sometimes they are 
shy, and cry easily ; at others petulant and irritable ; 
at no other period do they require such watchful care. 
I have known many instances where mothers have 
failed to tell their daughters in regard to it, and 
when it appeared they were frightened, and ran to 
the brook, or a spring, and washed their garments, 
and dried them upon their bodies. One in par- 
ticular I remember, who broke a hole in the ice, 
and washed her chemise ; she took cold, and died 
of consumption in a few months. Another went 
to her room, and sat for hours in cold water ; she 
still lives, but her sufferings all through life would 



l82 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

appall the hardest heart. The minds of girls at this 
period of life should be free and happy. No con- 
finement in schools, or at distasteful labor. The 
appetite should be watched lest some injurious 
habit be formed ; slate pencils, soft stone, charcoal, 
chalk, spices, coffee, and other injurious articles 
have been eaten until health suffered materially. 
In one instance the bowels became impacked with 
soft stone, and the patient paid the penalty with 
her life. Girls at this time of their lives should live 
out of doors, and wear the clothing so loose that 
the chest and breasts may not be compressed in the 
slightest degree. The breasts are exceedingly sen- 
sitive, and should be protected by padding the 
dresses with cotton, especially if there be little fatty 
ttesue to cover them. The slightest touch often 
gives extreme pain, and slight bruises sometimes 
cause them to suppurate. I once knew a case 
where the mother had tried in vain for days to find 
the cause of suffering in her daughter; she would 
cry out in her sleep, so great was her agony ; but 
she persistently refused to tell where she was sick. 
When I was summoned, and removed a shawl 
which she had worn to conceal the trouble, I found 
an abscess which, when opened, discharged half a 
pint of pus ; she made a rapid recovery, but the 



MENSTRUATION, AND CARE DURING IT. 1 83 

breast was ruined for life. Knowledge would have 
saved this trouble and suffering ; and the mother 
whose false modesty prevents her from teaching 
the things her child ought to know does not under- 
stand her duty. If this teaching is begun early 
there will be no estrangement of which some 
mothers complain, which prevents the easy access 
to the innermost thoughts of her children. 

The monthly flow should be as painless as 
digestion. It is usually, however, heralded by 
lassitude, a sensation of weight in the lower 
part of the abdomen and loins, and by painful 
swelHng of the breasts. When the nervous tem- 
perament predominates, a general excitement of 
the whole body prevails, which sometimes induces 
hysteria, melancholy, etc. Sometimes there is a 
mucous discharge, but slightly streaked with blood. 
Some have palpitation of the heart, others have an 
eruption on the face at these times ; when any of 
these symptoms are present, there is more or less 
trouble with the womb or ovaries ; sometimes the 
mucous membrane of the womb is thickened, and 
causes catarrh similar to that in the head and 
throat. Cramps and severe pain at the monthlies 
are often the result. Injections of hot water once 
in two or three hours usually afford relief in this 



l84 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

painful form of menstruation. If it does not, an 
experienced lady physician should be consulted 
before it becomes chronic. 

Great care to avoid taking cold at the monthlies 
should be used. Among the educated and culti- 
vated Germans during the monthly action, women 
do not mingle in society, but for two or three days 
remain in bed ; they eat no meat during this time, 
as it is harder to digest, and makes more blood 
than farinaceous or vegetable diet. During the 
monthly the womb is heavier than at other times, 
because its vessels are surcharged with blood. 
Standing upon the feet and walking at this time 
makes it fall easier than at other times. If women 
of high position would introduce the German cus- 
tom into this country, they would save a multitude 
of ills ; for she would be a bold woman indeed who 
did not bow to the behests of fashion. All mental 
or physical labor which quickens the circulation, 
all indigestible food, and excitement should es- 
pecially be avoided at this time. More work in the 
aggregate would be accomplished by heeding these 
suggestions. 

Diseases of the womb are insidious in their ap- 
proach. When we are made aware of them, through 
sympathy with some other organ, it is of long stand- 



MENSTRUATION, AND CARE DURING IT. 185 

ing. Thousands of women who to-day are invalids, 
and many among them incurable, would have been 
full of strength and vigor had they paid attention 
to little irregularities. Nothing pays better than 
care at this time. People, everywhere, try to alle- 
viate pain, and do not reflect that it is the sentinel 
telling them where the danger lies. To kill the pain 
without removing the cause, is like knocking down 
the sentinel while the train rushes on to destruction. 
Tight dressing is the direct cause of versions and 
flexions innumerable. Few mothers are aware of 
the pressure brought to bear upon the womb when 
encasing their girls in corsets. Heavy skirts hang- 
ing upon the hips, and even drawers bands alone, 
may cause the womb to fall, or settle as low down 
in the body as possible. Add to this the round and 
exciting dance now in vogue, and it would seem a 
miracle if any escaped. I remember one young 
girl, whose mother failed to educate her in these 
essentials, who entered society at the age of seven- 
teen ; she attended parties and balls, and danced 
until " the wee sma* hours '' two or three nights in 
a week ; she often danced hours without resting, 
except, perhaps, to rush into the open air for a few 
moments when heated to a white heat, as she termed 
it. She said she often felt as if everything in her 



l86 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

body was falling out. In the course of a year an 
ovarian tumor developed itself, and great fears are 
entertained regarding her future. Sometimes the 
womb is bent so sharply upon itself that during the 
monthly the pains are terrific. The number who 
suffer from flexions is startling. 

The cgmmon causes of irregularities, and the 
various kinds of misplacement, are taking cold, wet 
feet, too much mental excitement and application, 
sedentary life, violent exercise, late hours, consti- 
pation, passion, grief, immorality, disappointed love, 
homesickness, and frights. Sometimes, many of 
these combine to cause the trouble. It often takes 
years to cure what ought to have been prevented. 
Persons with these troubles may be handsome, 
healthy-looking women, whom none would suspect 
of ever having need to consult a doctor, yet they 
are irregular, and suffer great pain and inconven- 
ience ; they are frequently troubled with flushed 
faces, and a rush of blood to the head, and often 
have severe sick headaches. These people should 
take all the exercise possible in the open air, eat 
mostly fruit and lean meat, and take great care of 
the skin. Full-blooded people who are inclined to 
grow fat should eat less, and in these cases the womb 
should be carefully straightened by experienced and 



MENSTRUATION, AND CARE DURING IT. 18/ 

reliable physicians, and held so by a uterine stem- 
pessary until cured ; no support should be used 
which distends the vagina in the least degree. 

Those who are too thin should drink water freely, 
either hot or cold, and eat eggs, vegetables, milk, 
and cream in abundance. 

Some women have what is called vicarious men- 
struation ; once a month they vomit blood, or bleed 
at the nose or rectum ; sometimes the lungs become 
engorged, and hemorrhage from them may last 
several days. 

Often an eruption appears on the face from pain- 
ful or delayed menstruation, which disappears when 
it is established. Great nervousness is usually present 
in these cases, neuralgic pains in the breasts and 
legs ; sometimes hysteria and mania accompany this 
condition. Hip and foot bath at bedtime, for a 
week previous, generally gives relief. If troubled 
with cold feet, mustard added is beneficial. In 
some cases, the galvanic stem-pessary has afforded 
immediate relief. They are worn without trouble 
or pain if rightly selected and carefully introduced, 
but can not be worn over a week without removing 
and cleansing. Careful manipulation is absolutely 
necessary in using them, and the greatest care in 
their selection. 



1 88 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

During menstruation, the mucous membrane of 
the uterine cavity is, in all cases, denuded from its 
walls. In some cases, it is thicker and tougher than 
in others, and causes more pain. This form is 
called membranous menstruation. I have seen the 
entire cast expelled without a break in its struct- 
ure. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE VARIOUS DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS, 
WITH A SEVERE CASE OF ULCERATION. 

There are few women who dress fashionably 
who have not some form of displacement. These 
dislocations, as well as many of its diseases, have 
all been termed by women, *^ falling of the womb.'' 
There has been little education given women and 
girls by which they could learn in what particular 
one form differed from another. These variations 
affect no two alike. From its structure it is liable 
to various forms of displacement. These depend, 
in part, upon the firmness and elasticity of the va- 
gina, which tube is nearly all the support the womb 
has. It should be strong enough to rebound if 
from a jar or sudden movement the womb falls. If 
the womb is too large, or bent upon itself, or too 
round (like an orange), or if the clothing is too tight 
and too heavy, the vagina is not usually strong 
enough to hold it in its right position. It is some- 
times found lying across the body, with the mouth 

toward the bladder and its top toward the rectum. 

(189) 



1 90 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



This IS retroversion. By referring to Fig. 36 the 
womb is seen with its top or fundus lying on and 
nearly or quite closing the bowel, A. If this posi- 




Fig, 36.— Retroversion. Second Degree. 

tion is maintained for a long time the stools, which 
become hard by being too long retained, press upon 
and bend the organ nearly double. 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. I9I 

Retroversion is a simple form of displacement, 
and if early recognized, can easily be cured. The 
time it takes to cure any affection of the generative 
organs depends, first, upon its early recognition ; 
second, upon the co-operation of the patient with 
the physician (if it is grave enough to consult one) ; 
and the condition of the general health. When the 
back aches across the hips for several days and the 
bowels are constipated, with frequent desires to go 
to stool, accompanied by great nervousness, retro- 
version may be suspected. An examination with 
the index finger will find the mouth looking toward 
the bladder, instead of, as in the natural position, 
toward the rectum. The first thing to correct this 
is to attend to all the laws for the promotion of the 
general health. Cure the constipation by eating 
the right food and drinking large quantities of wa- 
ter, either hot or cool (never ice-cold), half-way 
between meals. Lie flat upon the face on the floor 
with the toes drawn up and the arms crossed in front ; 
raise the body upon the elbows and toes, and re- 
main in this position long enough to count twenty- 
five, holding the body straight, parallel to the floor. 
This will be impossible at first, but a few trials will 
strengthen the muscles, and its accomplishment 
will be easy. Creeping upon the hands and knees 



192 



MOTHERS AXD DAUGHTERS. 



like an infant has cured many without other treat- 
ment. Getting out of bed in the morning on the 
hands first instead of the feet, and creeping a few 




Fig. 37.— Retroflexion. 

times across the floor when the muscles are in a re- 
laxed condition, is beneficial. 

If retroversion is not cured before it becomes 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. J93 

chronic, many causes beside constipation will al- 
most surely produce retroflexion (Fig. 37). 

By studying this figure the vagina is seen short- 
ened, so that most patients can easily feel a large 
ball behind the mouth of the womb. This is the 
fundus or top of the womb, and is often lower than 
the mouth. This form of dislocation is very likely 
to produce hemorrhoids (piles), and physicians 
sometimes treat the patient for this trouble, when, 
if the cause could be removed, they would disap- 
pear with no treatment. 

Retroflexion is bending the womb in shape like 
the letter U, and causes great pain at the monthly 
periods. It is more formidable than retroversion, 
takes longer to cure, and many times requires the 
care of a physician who is specially acquainted with 
flexions and can, without danger of inflammation, 
which causes adhesions, restore the natural posi- 
tion. The writer has invented and improved a rub- 
ber and galvanic stem which some patients not 
over-sensitive can introduce and cure themselves. 

Usually the womb needs preparation by hot in- 
jections, and sometimes medication, before this can 
be tolerated. No force should be used in their in- 
troduction, and great care in their selection. After 
wearing them a few weeks the monthly flow is in- 



194 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

creased, and, if too much, their use should be dis- 
continued, and a Simpson's hard rubber, same shape, 
used instead. This can be worn months without 
removal, if the parts are thoroughly cleansed with 
syringe daily, while the galvanic stem must be 
cleansed and its surface made smooth by sand- 
paper each week. 

A CASE OF RETROFLEXION. 

A lady suffered from pain in back of head, be- 
tween her shoulders, and across the small of the back. 
The whole spine was so sensitive, that disease of it 
was diagnosed by the family physician. The bowels 
were constipated ; had no natural movements with- 
out aid in fifteen years (constipation is rarely found 
in anteflexion). The heavy fundus lay on the bowel 
low down, and she often felt like going to stool 
when there was nothing in the rectum. This re- 
peated straining caused it to be forced at each ef- 
fort lower in the pelvis and to make the flexion 
sharper. Small hemorrhoidal tumors protruded 
with the stools, which made the case appear Hke 
hemorrhoids instead of uterine disease. Taking a 
long walk in the rain one day she took cold, and 
violent inflammation set in. An adhesion to the 
rectum was formed, and months of treatment were 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. I95 

required to break it loose and straighten it, so that 
it was possible to return it to the natural position 
in the body. Leaning forward when at stool some- 
times assists a passage in cases of retroflexion or 
retroversion. When well she said one day : 

"Why have I not known this sooner? I have 
paid thousands of dollars to get well, when I could 
have kept well or could have cured myself, had I 
been taught nature^s laws and how God made the 
body." 

More or less leucorrhoea (or whites) usually at- 
tends these conditions. It is better it is so, where 
there is a sub-acute or chronic inflammation, as it 
partially relieves the over-distended blood-vessels. 
When the organs are in a healthy state there should 
be only enough to lubricate the parts, and this 
should be transparent like the white of an egg. 
Absolute cleanliness is necessary. This is accom- 
plished by means of a large-sized fountain syringe, 
and used tri-weekly or oftener as the case requires. 
Castile soap and water, a little glycerine in water, 
and clear, tepid water are all that health requires. 

By referring to Fig. 38, the reader will find the 
fundus of the womb instead of its mouth against 
the bladder. This is anteversion, and the suffer- 
ings of the patient will be mostly in front, although 



196 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

all the pelvic organs sympathize when one is dis- 
eased. The bladder can not retain as much water, 
and a desire to urinate frequently is often present. 
Lying upon the back and kneading the body low 



Fig. 38.— Anteversion. Second Degree. 

down vigorously, standing on the elbows and toes 
as before directed and walking with the bladder 
partly filled, if no pain follows, helps restore this 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. I97 

condition. Rubbing, or massage, is a powerful 
means of restoring the health, and should always 
be used intelligently. 

Anteversion does not necessarily cause pain at 
the monthly periods, but if not cured it becomes 
bent or flexed, and is the most formidable, and 




Fig. 39. — Anteflexion. 

more difificult to cure than any form of dislocation. 
The sufferings are in many cases worse than those 
of parturition. 

ANTEFLEXION. 

One case will illustrate anteflexion. Miss 

began to menstruate at fourteen. When the 
monthlies appeared, they were attended with so 
much pain in the region of the bladder, and running 



igS MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

down the front of the legs, sickness of the stomach, 
and extreme nervousness, that she went into con- 
vulsions. This state of things increased year after 
year, until the family affairs were regulated to give 
the entire time to caring for her at these periods. 
They had continued seven years when the writer 
first saw her, and had become so formidable that 
paralysis of one-half the body at the last sickness 
had dispelled all hope of cure. The attending 
physician told her father she must die at the next 
return. Not one of the score of doctors who had 
attended her had found the cause of her sufferings. 
The womb was twisted on itself like an old-fashioned 
friedcake. The menstrual fluid coagulated in the 
cavity, making its escape through the crooked canal 
impossible. During a convulsion, or while vomit- 
ing, a few drops w^ould pass, but most of it was re- 
turned by absorption into the circulation and sur- 
rounding tissues. The skin became sallow ; dark 
mothy spots appeared on the face, with pimples 
which covered her entire body. At twenty-one 
years of age she looked thirty-five. By dilating this 
twisted and indurated womb very carefully with 
small sponge tents a week before her expected sick- 
ness, she passed through the first painless monthly 
of her life. A few months of subsequent treat- 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. I99 



ment, which consisted in holding the organ straight 
with a carefully selected rubber stem, and teaching 




Fig 40. — Anteflkxion. Natural Size. 
a. Mouth of the womb, or os uteri, b. The fundus, or top, both looking forward. 




Fig. 41. 
a. Fundus, b. Vaginal portion, both looking forward, c. Vagina, d^ d 
The Ovaries. ^, e. Fallopian tubes. 



200 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



her nature's laws upon which health depends, re- 
sulted in a perfect cure. It is now eight years, and 
she has had no return of her troubles. Hundreds 
of cases have been, and can be cured without local 
interference, and would be more frequently if girls 
understood the first symptoms of displacements, or 

the direction of 
them. There are 
three varieties of 
anteflexion. 

By studying 
Figs. 39,40,41,42, 
it can easily be 
seen why such suf- 
ferings attend the 
various flexions of 
the womb, and 

A section made through the center of an ante- ^ . r 

flexed uterus, with enlarged anterior and shrunken ^^^ impOrtanCC OI 

posterior lip of uterus, showing places of atresia, •j-prnovinD* P V P r V 

or complete closure of the canal, rendering men- ^ ^ 

struation impossible. (Easily cured.) OUUCe of WeiCfht 

from the hips and abdomen comprehended."^ 

ULCERATION OF THE V^OMB. 
When there is a profuse discharge of yellow 
matter from the vagina, sometimes with heat, 




Fig. 42. 



* For confirmation, the patient above referred to is willing 
to correspond with any one so desiring, 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. 201 

frequently without pain, exhaustion, emaciation, 
nausea, etc., ulceration may be suspected. These 
conditions rarely come on suddenly, but are months 
and sometimes years in being established, so that 
its nature is not early understood. The counsel of 
a lady physician, if possible ; if not, one of experi- 
ence, should be consulted. If the vagina is kept 
scrupulously clean, it aids much in averting, also in 
curing this malady. There are many cases of 
catarrh of the womb induced by too long walks, 
taking cold, round dances, etc. After a few weeks 
of rest and care, with attention to all the directions 
for preserving the health, if it still continues, coun- 
sel should be had. In severe cases of ulceration 
the womb is usually prolapsed, and occasions a 
feeling of great weight low down. Rest upon the 
side, with one arm thrown back under the body, 
and drawing the knee of the upper leg up to the 
chin, and the under leg straight. This relieves the 
large blood-vessels of the weight, and gives . rest. 
Lie on both sides alike, else the' weak womb will 
gravitate to one side. 

In speaking of leucorrhoea, or whites, in connec- 
tion with an inflamed womb, I said it was better to 
have a discharge than a constant hardening, which 
might occur without it. This should not lead any 
9* 



202 



MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 



woman who has this affection to neglect an exam- 
ination, and to know what the discharge comes 




Fig. 43. — Prolapsed Uterus. 

from, and what the nature of it is. If it comes 
from ulceration of the mouth, or internal surface of 
the uterus, or from the vagina, delay sometimes 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. 203 

renders them incurable, or adhesions are formed 
which affect the health all through life. 

I will relate a case of severe ulceration, which 
came under my personal observation. A little 
knowledge of the conditions would have saved a 
lovely Christian lady from years of horrible suffering, 
and her family the sorrow of witnessing it. Forty 
years ago, before physicians made treatment of the 
womb a part of their practice, a woman whom the 
writer knew had during gestation a profuse bloody 
leucorrhcea. At seven months the ulcerated mouth 
(which no one suspected) could not retain the 
foetus, and it was prematurely born. She had dur- 
ing the pregnancy several times of flooding, when 
miscarriage was threatened, but by great care was 
averted. Labor set in with flooding, and her life 
hung by such a feeble thread that the physicians 
made no attempt to remove the placenta, knowing 
it would prove fatal. Strange as it may seem, 
seventeen days after, it came away, and no dis- 
charge, such as is natural (lochia), was seen ever 
after. Her legs were swollen to her hips, and at 
eighteen years of age the writer learned to put on 
a bandage (roller), and for six months attended 
them daily, winding the roller from the toes to the 
hips to keep the skin from bursting. After two 



204 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

years she was able to bear her weight upon her feet, 
and what are called milk ulcers appeared on her 
legs. She thought if these were cured she should 
be well, and a quack doctor applied some liniment, 
which drove them away. Immediately pains like 
the monthly began to appear. The abdomen en- 
larged, and this condition of things increased ten 
years, the pain much of the time being greater than 
labor pains. At this time she was fifty years of 
age, the time for the monthlies to cease. The size 
of the body was as large as if she had twins at full 
term ; her appetite had been good, but she was a 
skeleton. Now these horrible pains ceased, she 
gained flesh, could walk about her house, and was 
as well as she could be, aside from carrying this 
large tumor, as many physicians had called the en- 
larged abdomen. At the age of fifty-two she was 
doing some work in the pantry, and the grown-up 
mouth of the womb, which had been sealed up 
from adhesion caused by ulceration twelve years, 
gave way, and as near as could be estimated three 
gallons of thick, dark, odorless substance passed 
away. Her health did not suffer from the escape 
of this, but for prudence' sake she kept her bed a 
few weeks, and lived twenty years after in the en- 
joyment of health. Had she yielded to the advice 



DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS. 205 

of many physicians, and had an operation for the 
removal of a tumor, it would have proved fatal. 
Knowledge of herself would have saved these years 
of agony, and her family the suffering of witnessing 
it. When ulceration is suspected, the patient 
should avoid heating the blood, violent exercise, 
and stimulating food. She should use injections of 
hot water two or three times daily. The itching 
and irritation which the discharge causes are often 
cured by washing frequently with baking-soda, one 
teaspoonful to a pint for injection. 



2o8 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

those who had none to defend them. Roses long 
faded still bloomed for him in the withered and 
yellow cheeks of age. What we need to-day in this 
country is consistent gallantry," — when we no 
longer witness in the same man a pattern of true 
politeness to his wife, and cold contempt or rude- 
ness to a sister, or to his aunt, and idolatry to his 
mistress. ^' Just so much respect as a woman der- 
ogates from her own sex, in whatever condition 
placed, her maid or dependent, she deserves to have 
diminished from herself on that score, and probably 
will feel the diminution when youth and beauty 
shall lose their attraction." 

What a woman should demand of a man in 
courtship, or after it, is : first, respect for her as a 
woman ; and next, to be respected by him above 
all other women, and reverence for her sex. 

^^ The true object of matrimony, and the only 
one to be entertained, is the perfection of exist- 
ence that comes of a physiological union ; and the 
propagation of offspring that helps make that union 
complete, and is the combining of all which per- 
fects love, intensifies happiness, and makes life 
worth living." 

Perfect love is of God, and can not exist in a 
body foul with tobacco and strong drink. 



ON MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY. 20g 

Men need not fear that women can learn too 
much. The present fashion of considering the 
education of girls complete without a knowledge 
of the details of housekeeping and cooking, is 
fraught with incalculable evil to the family. It is 
possible for a lady to cook a good meal, and play 
a gem on the piano ; to make a shirt, and speak 
German or French. If it is not necessary for her 
to do it, she can with judgment direct their being 
done. Neither would mothers fear (if their daugh- 
ters were educated properly in these branches) 
should they be left dependent upon untrustworthy 
or incompetent servants. Soft hands would lose 
none of their charms by an occasional bath in dish- 
water. Useful occupation is better for the health 
and comfort of every individual, and many frail 
girls, by means of it, would have made finer speci- 
mens of womanhood. Fear of spoiling beautiful 
hands has made invalids of thousands of girls. 
Beauty will not, in the end, take the place of solid 
worth. *^A husband or wife should be chosen 
through the intellect ; it is almost impossible to 
choose one who approximates to our standard of 
character in all its details, but if such choice can be 
made, perfect love results as naturally and har- 
moniously as do all the workings of nature's laws, 



2IO MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

and this love grows stronger and purer all the days 
and years of life/' 

Selfish animal love is widely different from that 
which comes of a perfect union of soul with soul ; 
this is pure and holy. The disregard of this law of 
choice is the foundation of most domestic unhappi- 
ness. 

True and unaffected love is necessary for the de- 
velopment of perfect children. Filial love is rarely 
found except in those children who were know- 
ingly, earnestly, and lovingly desired by their 
parents. Children born under such conditions can 
not help loving each other. 

Love at first sight exercises only one faculty of 
the mind, and seldom outlasts the honeymoon. 

Although riches and pedigree are sought after 
by men, young ladies whose wants are not exor- 
bitant, with brains and muscles well developed and 
disciplined, would, if they could be found, take 
precedence with intelligent men who are worth 
marrying, and who would not, as many do in these 
extravagant days, tremble in view of matrimony. 
If fathers would, in giving their daughters in mar- 
riage, be as carefully guarded in regard to physical 
taint and pedigree, as cattle-breeders are in select- 
ing their stock, they would look with as much 



ON MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY. 211 

pride upon their grandchildren as the other does 
upon the beauty and purity of his stock; and there 
would be fewer sickly and feeble-minded children 
upon whom thousands of dollars are yearly spent 
*^ to buy a capacity." 

An assurance of health is the first thing to be 
looked after when contemplating marriage ; then the 
happiness of families is much more likely to be 
secured. 

If we believe, as Raphael did, that nature pro- 
duces principles only, not objects in their perfec- 
tion, we shall attach greater value to the instru- 
ments she has given us to work with. We see con- 
stantly that nature can be remodeled, and thereby 
superior objects of their kind produced. 

^^ Almost everything that grows is subject to 
amendment. Man has adjusted the conditions and 
aided nature in her work, and she has always re- 
warded him bountifully for his help. He will find 
in the use of his own powers, in helping to adjust 
conditions, a provision for his own improvement 
and happiness. To do this work well requires a 
knowledge of her laws; and although they may 
sometimes seem capricious, he will find them as im- 
mutable as the great Lawgiver himself. It is to 



212 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

the constant varying of conditions, and not to laws, 
that we must attribute nature's caprices/' 

If mothers can adjust the conditions in which 
to develop the immortal soul of a human being, is 
she not an artist on the very highest pinnacle of 
artdom ? Inasmuch as soul and spirit are superior 
to matter, so far above all artists does she fill and 
hold her holy office. Has she not more power and 
opportunity to mend humanity than all reformers 
put together? Why has poor humanity cried out 
so long to be mended ? The ways and means mul- 
tiply without improvement. '^ Knowledge comes, 
but wisdom lingers." 

There is a large army whose business it is to attend 
to our physical ills ; are we as a race healthier and 
stronger? Mortality is not quite as great, but we 
have not one less disease to contend with. After 
centuries of patching, does not the fabric grow 
weaker? Diseases and the laws governing them 
are beginning to be understood, but do they at- 
tend to the conditions of prevention? And so the 
patching goes on. The schools can mend in many 
ways, but would turn out a much stronger mental 
and moral growth if they had a better quality of 
brain for ideas and thoughts to grow in. How 



ON MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY. 21 3 

many failures are yearly graduated at our acade- 
mies and colleges, because of a lack of common- 
sense. ^^ Mankind are what their mothers make 
them.*' When each comes forth from his mother's 
womb, the " gate of gifts '* is closed behind him. 
It is to the mothers of the race that we are to look 
for amendments. It is for them to make what 
nature attempts, and but rarely succeeds be- 
cause hampered by unfavorable conditions. Can 
she supply the deficiencies, and make a perfect 
being, when there are weak or diseased parents? 
Culture can never succeed in uprooting the sins of 
generations ; it is the scythe that shaves the lawn, 
but leaves the roots of the weeds among the 
flowers. Not that I underrate culture, but we 
want natural ability and purity of structure. 

" God shines into humanity through the mother- 
medium. The power to grow fruit does not give 
it taste and sweetness : something more is required 
of a perfect mo'fher ; she must stand guard over the 
building of the temple, God's foreman in the work, 
and see that the best conditions are brought to 
bear on nature's laws. She is no higher than the 
brute creation if she does not employ her intellect. 
Providence does not design monstrosities. The 
mother's influence upon her unborn child, and 



214 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

through it upon society, church, and state, is im- 
measurably great ; but how utterly is this great 
truth ignored by mankind, and by mothers par- 
ticularly/* 

The true way to purge the State of its political 
rottenness and elevate society, is to fit woman, by 
mental, moral, and physical training, to compass and 
fill the responsibilities of mothers. 

Constitutional tendencies to evil are as great as 
those of disease. " Inasmuch as diseases of the 
body are transmitted in impregnation, and become 
parts of our individuality, so are mental infirmities 
transmitted, and become parts of our individuality/* 
When we reflect that the most trifling act of the 
mother may stamp itself indelibly upon the charac- 
ter of her child, ^^ that every thought may be a chisel, 
to cut for good or ill upon the statue of a soul, how 
great appears her responsibility/* " On the bounda- 
ries of this life, embryo forms wait with open lips 
at the breast of every mother; and whether they 
draw nourishment from a pure or impure source, 
will sooner or later appear. The great want that is 
throbbing in the world's yearning cry must be met 
and supplied here.** Instead of being hero-worship- 
ers, and holding in such religious veneration the 
ideas of our ancestors, let us wage war with the 



ON MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY. 21 5 

weaknesses and impurities of this race, and try to 
exterminate them. All honor to those who have 
won great achievements and made great discoveries. 
Now, in turn, let us transmit the record of noble 
work done to our children, who stand on vantage 
ground, and ought to grasp with ease thoughts and 
attainments which have taken our lifetime to com- 
pass, leaving them no prejudices to limit their use- 
fulness or poison their lives. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CASES AND TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 

The physicians of insane asylums tell me that 
by far the greatest number of the inmates among 
women suffer from nervous irritability, and more 
violent attacks of insanity when the monthly is 
present. In a majority of cases, womb disease is 
the direct cause of their incarceration in these 
prison walls. 

Irregularity in the circulation, palpitation of the 
heart-, as well as disorders of the stomach and 
bowels, accompany this condition. Many suffer- 
ings attendant upon it may be averted by follow- 
ing strictly the rules for the improvement of the 
general health. ' 

Male doctors can not, in the nature of things, un- 
derstand the secrets of a woman's life. She can 
not, nor would he understand her if she could, de- 
lineate all her sensations, her longings, her abuses, 
and sexual depletions. Her agony rankles and 

(216) 



TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 21/ 

eats into her soul all the more because she has 
no ear but God^s, and He seems afar off. It is 
natural that woman, with woman's instinct, should 
see at a glance what science has not seen, and can 
never find out, in regard to the mental and sexual 
conditions of woman's nature. The sexual system 
is by far the most important in her whole being, 
and she is as ignorant of it, and the havoc it plays 
with her health, as the inhabitants of the earth be- 
fore the flood were of telegraphy. To dispel this 
ignorance, and save the race from its degradation, 
is the duty of women who have means and leisure. 
It is especially the duty of women physicians to 
labor early and late, in season and out, to help on 
this work, which will, when complete, help usher in 
the millennium. 

It would astonish the community if they knew 
the number of women in our land to-day who are 
laboring under deep sorrow and mental depression 
from uterine diseases. Some who come to me for 
help seem to be borne up by superhuman strength ; 
but this nervous force, held at such tension, is liable 
to break any hour. Then reason totters, and often 
loses its balance, irrecoverable in a life which is, in 
reality, a living death. These helpless women do 

not need bolts and bars to imprison them, but hos- 
lo 



2l8 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

pitals for rest, and women's skilled hands, wise heads, 
tender care, and sympathizing hearts, to lift them 
up and cure them. As asylums are now conducted, 
all hope is cut off in many cases, and large numbers 
go to early graves who might have enjoyed the 
blessings of life to old age. 

To show better than words of mine can do, the 
needs of women physicians in prisons, jails, hos- 
pitals, and most of all in insane asylums, I will 
quote from a letter of a patient who has spent 
many months in one of the (so called) best institu- 
tions in the United States, 1871. She writes: 
" Who are the insane in our asylums ? Let one 
who has been behind the bars, among the spirits in 
prison, answer. They are a class of unfortunates 
upon whom the world drops the pitying mantle of 
silence. Let the most profound scholar, the most 
briUiant literary man or woman, the most gifted 
artist, once enter an insane asylum as an inmate: 
they are as dead to the outside world as if already 
sleeping their last long sleep in the bosom of mother 
earth. Sometimes a whisper concerning the once 
admired among their acquaintances, comes to their 
friends, leaving an impression of horror. 

" Let us enter, and pass through the wards which 
are open to visitors, in one of these State institu- 



TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 219 

tions, where the insane pauper may find an asylum, 
and the rich, if they please, can place under lock 
and key the skeleton of their household. In 
glancing over twenty or thirty patients within 
sight, the eye is arrested by a queenly-looking 
woman between forty and fifty years of age ; she 
is tall and stately, with iron-gray hair, the softest 
and most loving eyes, and traces of what must once 
have been great beauty. When addressed, she 
answers with a gentle courtesy, which is more the 
result of natural grace of manner than of worldly, 
polish. She has spent most of her life in insane 
asylums. You wonder at seeing her among the in- 
mates, and are told that she is subject to fits of 
frenzy, but is usually as you see her. She is re- 
markably well informed upon all the leading ques- 
tions of the day, religion, science, and State craft ; 
she has a great fondness for geology, but says she 
has no dictionary, and can not satisfactorily pursue 
its study. Sometimes she gazes long and silently 
into vacancy, and then comes and lays her head in 
your lap, and asks if want of pleasure does not 
shorten life ? She looks after the home-sick stran- 
ger, and sadly remarks that woman must have some- 
thing to love. Sometimes, you hear from her lips 
a telling shaft of wit, in reply to the assumptions of 



220 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

some pompous Pharisee among the governors. She 
is at the beck and call of inferiors, mentally and 
morally ; poor woman, she deserves a better fate. 

" Another fragile, fairy-like creature calls for your 
pity, whose anxiety about the souls of her children 
has made her a monomaniac. On the floor is one 
who is sobbing and bemoaning her fate. She will 
talk rationally and tell you of her mother who was 
paralyzed, and that the care of her broke down her 
nervous system and shattered her health — after her 
mother's death she was left alone and penniless to 
fight the battle of life. 

*^ In another ward, lying upon the floor crying and 
chattering like a parrot, is a beautiful girl of seven- 
teen, once the pride of her parents and the boast of 
her classmates in the public school. Under the 
high pressure which is used in most of these schools 
her nerves gave way, and she, bereft of reason, lin- 
gers still within the walls of this asylum (a better 
name is prison). 

^^ Would it not seem that the State which sup- 
ports these institutions would have a State Board 
of Charities, which should provide all the comforts 
and aids to restore reason and improve the health ? 
Such is not the case. The United States is far be- 
hind the times in making the inmates of these in- 



TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 221 

stitutions feel that they are cared for with a view 
to help and cure, or at least to make their lives tol- 
erable. 

** Nothing is done to cure insanity in these places, 
so far as I know. The food is left to be distributed 
by unprincipled officials, when there should be a 
law by which intelligent physicians might select 
what was appropriate for each patient. At meals 
strangers are allowed to be present in London asy- 
lums. No class of patients need more care in diet, 
and yet this is sadly and wickedly neglected in 
America. Next to this is fresh air. Those who 
are too weak to walk should be taken out in car- 
riages, for they all have a feverish desire for mo- 
tion. They should have fewer bolts and bars, fewer 
strait-jackets, and more fresh air and diversion. 
It is cheaper to cure and send them home than to 
keep them at the expense of the public. I was the 
only favored patient among the six hundred. I was 
allowed to lie in my bed when not able to sit up ; 
all others not entirely helpless were made to lie 
upon the floor. There was no infirmary, no nurses, 
except attendants, who were ignorant, common 
girls, with plenty of hard work to do. When a 
patient was sick in bed, as I was for weeks, she had 
to depend on kind-hearted patients for all the little 



222 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

services she needed. The matron was the actual 
head of the asylum ; her husband seemed greatly 
under her influence, and their power was unlimited. 
By blood and brogue, religion and temperament, 
she was an Irish Roman Catholic ; an attendant in 
the institution when her husband married her, and 
as ignorant as the average servant-girl. She was 
hard, cruel, deceitful, and intriguing. She was a 
good cook, and provided a bountiful table for the 
officials. When my husband visited me we were 
invited to sit at their table ; everything was bounti- 
fully supplied at the expense of the State ; but I 
ate with a choking sensation in my throat, for I re- 
membered the scores of sick people all over the 
house to whom a tithe of these delicacies would 
have been a boon. The matron hired and dis- 
missed all help, and the patients were helpless in 
her hand.^, and she was loathed and feared by all 
except the spies who were kept in each ward and 
room in the house. 

" There were two good physicians in the house, 
but they were in the power of this woman's hus- 
band, and he in hers. No State Board of Charities 
disturbed the machinations of the head physician 
and his wife ; no voice of complaint ever reached 
the friends of the patient. All letters were in- 



TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 223 

spected, and none which did not eulogize the man- 
agement was allowed to reach the outside world. 
I experienced roughness at first, before they knew 
I had influence with the Governor of the State, he 
being a relative. When this was known, they were 
at my service, and I was treated like a queen. But 
I have been behind the scenes ; I know of what I 
write. Unconscious of the espionage upon letters, 
I wrote my husband of some rudeness and other 
improprieties taken. Week after week came and 
went, and no news from me. At last my husband 
came and found me sick in bed. He had received 
none of my letters. The doctor told him he had 
kept them to study up my case, and, through my 
husband^s influence, I was thereafter treated well. 
I had been pronounced perfectly sane for some 
time ; but I felt indignant at being sent there, and 
determined to stay and see how poor people with- 
out friends were treated. I had free access to all 
the female wards. I soon found that the Roman 
Catholics had control. The matron had spies — 
strong, healthy women — who did nothing but re- 
port to her the sayings and doings all over the 
house. Other patients who were sickly were 
driven to the laundry to wash, iron, and scrub; 
while the State kept these lazy women, who never 



224 MOTHERS AND DAUGfiTERS. 

left the ward. It was believed by many that medi- 
cines were given to hurry the patients out of Hfe. 
Of this I can not speak, but I have my thoughts, 
however. At one time the lovely woman I first 
mentioned warned me about my food, and told me 
not to taste it until the girls who brought it to me 
had. This put them on guard, and my food was 
not poisoned. 

*' These poor people desired prayers and music and 
religious services. There were no Bibles for them ; 
no chapel ; but the servants' dancing hall was used 
as such. I read from the Book of Common Prayer, 
and they received it joyfully. 

" I also in great earnestness present my plea for 
women physicians to be employed in all insane 
asylums in our land. If every man and woman in 
the country knew what I know, but can not write, 
no man, especially no unmarried man, would be 
allowed entrance into the female wards of an in- 
sane asylum. They should be managed and at- 
tended by women only. In these days there are 
plenty who by professional skill, ability, and at- 
tainment are thoroughly qualified to take charge of 
this class of persons. A woman's hand first lifted 
the cloud from me ; a woman's intellect first dis- 
covered the cause of my malady and the mental 



TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 225 

troubles which grew out of it, and, from that hour, 
my faith in women physicians for women's pecuHar 
diseases has been unswerving. Man's commanding 
intellect should be at the head, but over these irre- 
sponsible women the guardianship of woman's 
heart and conscience must preside. If by my 
tongue or pen I can do anything to bring about 
the result I shall not have lived and suffered in 
vain. 

** It passes my comprehension that the common- 
sense of mankind has not long ago revolted at 
the practice of placing irresponsible women in 
the exclusive guardianship of men, away from the 
protection of their natural guardians — their hus- 
bands, fathers, and brothers. These otherwise sen- 
sible people hand over to the officials of an insane 
asylum these dearest treasures body and soul. If 
through heaven's mercy she fall into good hands, 
well and good ; but if an unprincipled physician 
holds the key to her chamber door, may God have 
mercy on her. She is looked upon as a maniac, 
and her testimony is of no avail. I know many 
who are incarcerated there who have sounder rea- 
son than those who have charge of them. 

" I have written strongly because I feel deeply, 



226 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

and I believe that if the subject could be brought 
up at the societies of medical men, there would be 
found enough good ones to make this most needed 
change. If the American people would guard the 
purity of their homes, they must watch over their 
public institutions. The shaft is liable to fall on 
any family, and the people must look to the pre- 
vention of such monstrous outrage and cruelty. A 
State board of charities would help, and public 
men and women of means and leisure can not with- 
out sin remain indifferent to this subject.'* (Writ- 
ten by the patient.) 

When we consider the great number of over- 
worked and sick women who, all over our beautiful 
land, are liable any day to break down, and fall 
into the hands of these people, this sad story does 
not seem overdrawn or exaggerated. This woman 
has told the unvarnished truth, and it should be 
heeded by all. There should be united effort to 
make these asylums into hospitals for rest, and pro- 
vided with means of cure, and all comforts to 
solace their diseased minds, as well as their bodies. 

When woman is educated in all the details of her 
physical structure, and when ill, studies the causes ; 
when she labors understandingly to perfect her own 



TREATMENT OF INSANE WOMEN. 22/ 

body and those of her children, she will be free 
from bondage to custom, free from bondage to in- 
validism in most cases, and from insane asylums, 
whose modes of treatment, however well intended 
and provided for by the State, sometimes make 
mild cases hopeless. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

children's rights. 

Every child which comes into the world has a 
right to be well born ; by this I mean it has a right 
to the best conditions, physical, mental, and moral, 
that it is in the power of the parents to secure. 
Without this the child is defrauded of its rights. 

" Centuries of preparation fitted the earth for our 
occupancy, thus hinting at the grandeur of our des- 
tiny, and suggesting that in an event of such mag- 
nitude as the incarnation of a soul prevision should 
be made, and the best conditions secured to insure 
a harmonious and happy result.'* 

Good health, good spirits, sound morality, and 
reverent love should form the basis of every new 
life that is invoked. 

Mothers have no excuse for petulance and non- 
exercise of self-control, and those who indulge 
them need not be surprised if they reap a harvest 
of their own sowing. 

Children have a right to be taught obedience. It 

(228) 



CHILDREN S RIGHTS. 229 

IS comparatively easy to submit to what we know 
is inevitable, and to the little child the requirement 
of the parent should be law without appeal. Chil- 
dren should not be tempted to disobedience by too 
many laws, or too much watching for imperfections. 
The fewer requirements made, the less care is 
needed to see that they are fulfilled. Before the 
child is two years old, a habit of obedience should 
be formed. The child has a right to employment, 
and the free use of its faculties. Many a little 
prisoner cries for something to do in homes fur- 
nished too luxuriously for play-houses, and among 
grown-up people who can not bear a noise. We 
often hear parents tell children to sit down and 
keep quiet; or to be little men or women. In a 
few years, at most, the freedom and employment 
they now seek and need will, in all probability, be 
directed in ways of sin, bringing more sorrow to the 
parents when they can not as well bear it. It 
would be far better to deny themselves the unsatis- 
factory pleasures of society, and study the needs of 
their offspring, and how to direct the force which 
impels them. 

A child has a right to ask questions, and to be 
fairly answered, not misled, snubbed, or ignored. 
It has a right to be taught everything which it de- 



230 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

sires to learn. There are so many restrictions to 
childish impulses that natural development is 
looked for almost in vain. When brought into 
new places, and surrounded by strange objects, they 
should be instructed in regard to each, instead of 
being told not to touch, nor to ask questions. My 
heart has often been pained at seeing children pun- 
ished, for want of thought in preventing temptation 
on the part of parents. 

It is well enough occasionally to dress children 
for callers, and make them see strangers in the 
drawing-room, but they should not be compelled 
to kiss them, or to be taken in arms by them, 
against their inclinations. This is a punishment 
for most children, and might with benefit be 
made to atone for some misdemeanor. To be 
made to sit still, in a high-chair, and not allowed to 
handle things, to behave like grown-up people for 
half an hour, is sufficient penance for grave misde- 
meanor, even for grown people. Those who really 
care to see children would much prefer to see them 
at their play in the nursery, where they are free to 
romp, and to act naturally. Children have a right 
to be taught politeness and reverence. The old 
fashion of compelling children to make obeisance 
to all passers-by, and to all whom they chanced to 



CHILDREN S RIGHTS. 23 1 

meet was far more beneficial than the present way 
of allowing them to form such habits of indiffer- 
ence. Want of respect to the aged is a sure mark 
of low breeding. 

Children have a right to be protected by the 
State from contamination in poor-houses and 
prisons, and from vicious parents. They have 
rights of protection from temptation ; to be kept 
from criminal companions, from vice, and from 
scenes which can but demoralize ; also from the 
vastly increasing number of obscene books which 
flood the country. The helplessness of poor chil- 
dren is a plea for their removal from basements and 
alleys, from the dark and lonely cellars in which 
many of them are born, where they take in crime 
with their breath, and where the sweet, purifying 
air of heaven never enters. The State can well 
afford to adopt and educate all such children ; this 
in most cases will incur a healthy growth, which 
will so crush out the deeply-rooted weeds of vice 
that they will not spring up and bear fruit in lives 
of sin and shame. Some mothers think it wrong 
to exhibit models and diagrams. of all the organs 
of the body to youth and children from ten years 
of age and upwards. This is either ignorance or 
false delicacy. Any attempt at concealment increases 



232 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

their curiosity, and desire to gratify it unobserved. 
The best way is to observe no secrecy, but to teach 
God's idea of making the entire body. Children 
should be taught reserve, but not to parents. It is 
cruel and wicked to have questions from an inno- 
cent and confiding child answered by falsehood 
from the mother. It may be at the time of evening 
prayer, when the imagination has free play, rather 
than when surrounded by the diversions of the day, 
that the confiding one asks : " How did God make 
me?'' and his fond mother perhaps tells half a 
dozen lies, and then kneels down and prays that 
her child may be truthful. She need not tell false- 
hood, if she can not tell all the truth, but promise 
as soon as he can understand, or when it is best for 
him to know, to tell all. The most important 
thing a mother can do is to establish a confidence 
between herself and child, which can not by any 
after-education be destroyed ; then he will always 
seek her, instead of his associates, for the knowl- 
edge which she only is prepared to give. 

A young French woman took her twin boys, ten 
years of age, to see a manikin, which, when dis- 
sected, represented twins in the womb. When the 
lecturer came to this part of the manikin, she 
passed it by; but the little mother said, '^Why, 



CHILDREN S RIGHTS. 233 

this IS just what I brought them to see, that they 
may know how they grew together in my body, 
like birds in a nest ; then Fm sure they never will 
quarrel, and will worship me/' The lecturer took 
each infant in turn from its baby home, and showed 
the little wonderers how, when the right time 
came, they followed each other into the world ; and 
who thinks it could harm those boys ? 

A little ten-year-old girl came running to her 
mother, who was expecting a new baby, and said : 
" A little girl told me I was going to have a little 
sister, and I told her it was a lie ; if my mother was 
going to have a new baby she would tell me, and 
she has never said a word about it." The mother 
thought, *' If I deceive my child now, she will 
never again have confidence in me,'' and she took 
her to her bureau, and showed her the wardrobe 
prepared for the little stranger, and asked her if 
she desired to add anything ; this satisfied the 
child, who never spoke of it, except to her mother, 
to whom she was devoted with a fidelity before un- 
known. This is the best way to cure the sensual 
appetite, and refine the character. ^' To the pure 
all things are pure." 

When women are not ashamed of God's work, 



234 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

the world will become exalted, above our present 
attainment in morals. 

The sexual appetite is often developed as early as 
eight or nine years ; this leads the little innocents 
into practices which the watchful care of the mother 
will have difficult work to find out. Mothers 
think, and often wrongly, that their children are 
ignorant on such subjects. A lady once told me 
she was going to surprise her little nine-year-old 
daughter ; and when she told her she had a pres- 
ent for her, and it was a brother, the child said : 
*' Oh ! IVe been expecting it a long time ; I have 
a name all ready for him.'' She felt she had de- 
prived herself and her little daughter of many 
happy hours by not confiding in her. There was 
no surprise when told it was a part of both father 
and mother, and that she must ask no questions 
until older ; that it was a subject very hard for all 
to comprehend ; but like the trees and grass, was 
part of God's work. This was so impressed upon 
her mind that she never spoke of it to her after- 
ward. If mothers begin early, they will find it 
much easier than to wait until this thirst for knowl- 
edge has been filled at other fountains, and habits 
acquired that not only ruin the health, but some- 



CHILDREN S RIGHTS. 235 

times undermine the reason. According to the 
latest statistics, one-third of the inmates of insane 
asylums are addicted to secret vice. Mothers 
should not allow their children to go from home to 
boarding-school, under any pretext, before they are 
educated in these particulars ; if they do, the sin 
and the consequences lie at their own door. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

DUTIES OF WOMEN. 

The most important duty of a true mother is to 
look well to her own health. In her anxiety for 
her loved ones it is not uncommon to put herself 
in the background, while she manifests the greatest 
watchfulness and solicitude for her husband and 
children. Sometimes these anxieties are not ap- 
preciated by those who truly love her, and for 
whom she sacrifices her rest and sleep ; in some in- 
stances they learn to accept and expect services 
which they ought to render to her. It has some- 
times happened that over-anxiety to please on the 
mother*s part has created a selfish demand in those 
who have unconsciously grown to expect sacrifices 
from her; and when her strength fails she finds the 
demands continue, and too late that she has been 
guided by maternal impulses, not by reason. Often 
a stage of indecision follows such a revelation. 
She is amazed that mother-care is not always pro- 
ductive of reverence and obedience from her chil- 
(236) 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 237 

dren, and of constancy and tender care from her 
husband. If she be mentally equal to the emer- 
gency she will not waste her time in useless weep- 
ing, but will set her sails so that she may steer her 
bark clear of the rocks of indifference or the whirl- 
pool of grief. Tears and heartaches will not bet- 
ter things. She should study the best and wisest 
way to retrace her steps, and do her duty without 
suffering if the heavens fall, then rest her soul in 
peace and enjoy the gifts of God in her home and 
in society. She will then grow strong mentally and 
physically. 

There are some men who think their wives as 
frail as porcelain, and will not allow them sufficient 
exercise to keep the blood circulating or the mus- 
cles strong. I have known robust and healthy girls 
metamorphosed into the weakest and most helpless 
women from this over-indulgence. Servants are 
made to do the most trifling things, which would 
keep the muscles and health of the mistress in good 
condition if she were allowed to do them, and tend 
to make her after-life complete. Ignorance of nat- 
ure's laws lies at the root of this, and when women 
themselves learn and heed these laws, they will have 
less need of doctors and enjoy more happiness. 
When wealth is given it need not prove, as it does 



238 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

in many instances, the cause of degeneracy of the 
mind and bodies of women. All useful work is 
laid aside for light reading, the opera, or anything 
to, kill time. Instead of seeking out the children 
of poverty who are always near (many of whom are 
the salt of the earth), and trying to lift them to 
their best estate, these grand dames pass by on the 
other side, shutting their eyes to real life around 
them. The avenues to the heart are closed, and, 
before they are aware, the tenderest and most lov. 
ing souls become totally indifferent. If selfishness 
alone actuated women of means and leisure they 
would keep their sympathies warm toward the 
poor and their own health firm by giving a portion 
of each day to ministering to them. 

It is the duty of every woman before marriage to 
learn sufficient physiology, anatomy, and hygiene 
to keep herself and family well under ordinary cir- 
cumstances. She should know how to make plain 
garments and to mend ; to arrange and keep a 
house in order ; to cook and economize ; how to 
divide her time so that each day a portion of it 
may be given to self-culture. In this way the 
Duchess of Orleans secured a state of self-preserva- 
tion which made her the envy of many who had not 
the sense to follow her example. To have all the 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 239 

organs healthy and doing their work as faithfully as 
the postman brings our letters leaves our minds 
free ; we can then enjoy God*s gifts in the air and 
sunshine, and the society of our friends, and feel (a 
glorious state of mind) that we are not a burden to 
them. 

There are many women at this moment sending 
a wailing cry to heaven for health and strength who 
could have it by discharging half their help and en- 
gaging for two or three hours each day in real, old- 
fashioned housework. What women need is a 
knowledge of themselves and of their own power 
to execute plans ; to invent and carry to comple- 
tion devices to aid all manner of domestic machin- 
ery ; to discipHne all their powers into a state of 
readiness for the every-day affairs of life. If this 
education begin early it will save an enormous 
amount of time in maturing and carrying out plans. 

Men, as a rule, continue to grow all their lives ; 
while the monotony of woman's life, unless she is 
on the alert for wisdom and improves all her re- 
sources, causes her to settle into humdrum and 
commonplace. She is often made to feel, after ten 
or twenty years of married life, inferior to her hus- 
band. At marriage she was his equal, and would 
have kept pace with him could she have had his 



240 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

advantages. I have known men hard to please 
after a few months or years of married life — this is 
more apt to be the case if the wife is an invalid. 
He does not mean to be unreasonable or find fault, 
but when he comes from his business and sees an 
anxious or tired wife, with the house neglected, as 
it often must be among farmers and working peo- 
ple, he looks disappointed. His wife detects his 
state of mind, and tears stream down her pale 
cheeks. He goes out of her presence, for men dis- 
like to see women in tears. Each repetition of 
such misunderstanding and disappointment weak- 
ens the restraint he puts upon his words, and by 
and by he complains and finds fault, until either 
the spirit of his wife is broken or she rouses her en- 
ergies to the point of anger (the latter is altogether 
the safest plan). If she is wise and strong enough 
to keep this attitude she will conquer with the aver- 
age man ; but if she be cringing and begs for the 
money he grudgingly gives — demanding to know 
how it is used, and making her feel like a culprit 
when asking for her own — he will not change for 
the better. 

I once knew an angel-woman who tried to please 
what the world calls a good man. He gave liber- 
ally to the church, and his word was as good as law. 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 24I 

His opinion was sought by the villagers on all pub- 
lic occasions, but he had no money for his sick and 
patient wife or for his children ; no kind word or 
look of sympathy to help lift her burden. With 
abundance of means, he lived penuriously ; with an 
iron will and no sympathy in his nature, he de- 
stroyed the peace of his wife's life, who died 
of a broken heart, with no disease except that 
which comes of grief. On her death-bed she 
told me she had never eaten a meal in her own 
house unless they had company without shedding 
tears or leaving the table to suppress them. Had 
this man known how to comfort and encourage one 
of the best women that ever lived — had he been 
genial, kind, and generous in his own family, she 
would now bless her children, who are ruled, as he 
is, by a second wife, who laid her plans well and 
succeeded. Had the first wife been positive in her 
nature and refused to grieve, even though she had 
never been understood or appreciated, in all prob- 
ability disease would not have had a foothold. 

It sounds harsh, perhaps, to tell a sick and heart- 
broken woman that she must get almost, if not 
quite, angry ; she must arrive at the point of abso- 
lute indifference in regard to the effects of doing 
her duty or she must die. I told one lovely creat- 



242 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

ure, who had spent years in ministering to a drunken 
husband, that if she would let him see her angry 
instead of in tears it might save him. She had 
never crossed his wishes, had exercised no will of 
her own, but had yielded to him in all things, hop- 
ing thereby to save him. But as he continually 
went from bad to worse, she began to ponder my 
words, and, one day, packed her trunk and took 
her children a long journey to visit her brother 
without consulting her husband. This strange act, 
so different from any in all the previous years, 
brought him to his senses. After a week passed, 
with no news of his wife and no sleep, he followed 
her, and, on his knees, confessed his wrong-doings, 
and begged her to return with him, saying he would 
lead a new life. She told him to reform first, then 
she would go ; but her duty to three lovely children 
must now be paramount ; that they must not live 
with and see their father come staggering home 
once or twice every week when her brother had of- 
fered them a home. He saw she was in earnest, 
and he became a new man and a church-member — 
all because she had knowledge of duty, and strength 
of will to perform it. It is not always possible for 
women to follow her example, but they may many, 
times, by studying prayerfully the will of the M^- 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 243 

ter, see a light shining through the darkest places 
and be guided into it. 

There is a grave question which affects the home 
life of many women in these days of expensive liv- 
ing. After devoting the week to the care of the 
household, women should, if possible, attend some 
church on Sunday. Although the habits of men, 
w^ho do not attend church, urge them to the club or 
saloon, and their need of church influences may be 
greater, still the necessity for women to have a 
change of scene, to see people, to say nothing of 
their spiritual need, is far in excess of that of men ; 
but, unless people have abundant means, it seems 
like asking an impossibility. We trust the time is 
near, however, when free churches will open their 
doors to those desiring their comfort and instruc- 
tion. There is now room for many who do not 
avail themselves of it on account of pride. I know 
of an eminent divine in the East who often asked 
the rich people in his parish to remain at home in 
the evening, and invite strangers, or those unable to 
pay large pew rents, to occupy their seats. His is 
a wonderfully influential and prosperous parish ; 
perhaps this helps to make it so. There are spring- 
ing up, also, in every town of importance, societies 
similar to the Christian Association for Young Men, 



244 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

art societies, and reading-rooms for women. These 
are great helps, and, if possible, all should avail 
themselves of their benefits. 

The greatest duty of the women of to-day is to 
the girls of poverty and to fallen women ; first, to 
the army who are drilling to fill the ranks of the 
fallen ; those helpless little girls who beg on the 
streets, who can not go to school, who suffer from 
hunger and cold, from cruelty of drunken parents, 
and who, as soon as the ways of sin are known to 
them, rush madly in, and are lost in its maelstrom. 
In another chapter it is suggested that cottages be 
built in the country, and all children of both sexes 
taken from poor-houses and jails, from drunken 
parents and outlaws, and be brought up in them. 
Ten or twelve should be allotted to each cottage, 
with one good woman to act as foster-mother over 
this number ; there should be a general school and 
dining-room, a kitchen, laundry, and chapel. As 
soon as homes could be found for them in the coun- 
try they should be adopted. They should be called 
State schools, not poor-houses. 

There is a degradation attached to an almshouse 
which is sure to follow any who have been inmates. 
This is a sure way, and the only one, to stamp out 
vice and crime. If the women of to-day knew their 



DUTIES OF WOMEN.. 245 

power and influence, and were willing to deny them- 
selves luxuries and to work unitedly, another year 
would see the beginning of this greatest of all re- 
forms. There is a false view held by many in re- 
gard to stamping out the social evil. The idea that 
it can not be effected leads them to shut their eyes 
and ears to its awful degradation. But of one thing 
we may rest assured, women have it in their power 
to take away the need of prisons, almshouses, and 
asylums, and to regenerate the race. We may 
also rest assured that it will not be done until they 
join heart and hand in denouncing the libertine, 
and give to his victim sympathy, and an open door 
to a virtuous life. In this way may Charles Dudley 
Warner's assertion be verified, which says, ^* Women 
have it in their power to regenerate the race morally, 
by frustrating the criminal tendencies of those reared 
in vice.*' To educate the youth in virtue is the 
foundation of all great reforms. Another scientist 
says, *^In order to hasten the reign of virtue, 
eunuchs should be made of all criminals and out- 
laws.*' Still another attributes the evils which 
affect society to "the lack of all fireside virtues." 
It is good for humanity that there is such a thing 
as high life. To it all should aspire, as these 
aspirations help to make it. It should not lead us 



246 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

to become clannish, or to cherish a spirit of caste, 
but each and all should seek associations which will 
improve them ; none need ever fear harm from being 
found where duty calls, whether it be in the hovel 
of the poor, or in trying to win from it the inmates 
of a brothel. The diamond shines in all its lustre, 
even though its setting be made of charcoal. Let 
us be sure we are in the path of duty, and then fol- 
low our own convictions. ^' God and nature will 
confirm them, and strengthen us.'* We can then 
never feel alone or isolated, but related to all God's 
children, and feel a desire to help them as we have 
opportunity. 

It is the duty of mothers to teach children ven- 
eration for the aged ; age and youth are mutually 
dependent upon each other; nothing renews the 
aged like youthful associations ; they live over 
again their childhood, and gather the glow of youth 
from their children, while the young are made 
nobler and purer by wise counsel of the experi- 
enced. Reverence crowns childhood and youth 
v/ith indescribable loveliness, and, more than all, 
perfumes the pathway of age with the sweet fra- 
grance of flowers. 

Perhaps the most sacred duty of a mother is to 
teach her children to be absolutely truthful. God 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 247 

does not deceive her, and does not intend she shall 
deceive those He has committed to her care. If the 
young intellect is smothered with falsehood, there 
is added curiosity, and a determination to pursue 
inquiry till the truth is found. How much safer to 
guard it with love and care, and shelter it from the 
sinfulness of this wicked world. Whatever pain 
she may suffer from it, nothing should deter her 
from the literal fulfillment of this duty. 

Falsely called genteel notions hinder many wom- 
en from doing what conscience dictates. It is a 
great loss to be hampered by fear of doing some- 
thing not previously done by others. Many noble 
and generous deeds have been killed by want of 
courage to do as judgment dictates. 

It is the duty of every woman, young and old, to 
study her appearance, and make it in all respects 
as faultless as possible. The way some have of ar- 
ranging the hair, instead of bringing out the pleas- 
ant lines and beautifying the expression of the face, 
sharpens them, and makes angles where there should 
be curves. Fashionable women do not need this 
advice ; they overreach the healthy point of atten- 
tion to details in dress, and the care of the skin, 
and, by not considering its health, weaken the body, 
or some of its functions. But working-women get 



248 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

SO weary at their toil, and have so little to stimu- 
late them to look well, that they grow indifferent, 
negligent, and sometimes slovenly. Children im- 
itate theLi; example, and grow up as regardless of 
appearances as calves and colts ; such children, in 
after-life, can never acquire the love of order, or 
understand the fitness of things, as do those whose 
mothers, by precept and example, teach them sys- 
tem and neatness in all things. 

It is the duty of young women to study the de- 
sires and needs of their parents and those younger 
than themselves. If there is one solace more than 
another, which parents receive for the sleepless 
nights, their anxiety for their children's welfare, 
and their struggle to place them on a higher pin- 
nacle in life than they themselves occupy : it is to 
know these children are alive to their needs ; that 
they study to relieve them from care and annoy- 
ance ; that their little wants, as well as great ones, 
receive attention ; and that they in turn have an 
almost equal care of those younger than themselves. 
I once knew a young lady who seemed to take her 
greatest pleasure in looking over her mother's 
wardrobe, and preparing little surprises for her, 
such as replacing soiled ruffles in the neck and 
sleeves of her dress, mending or cleansing where it 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 249 

was needed, putting her clean linen near her just 
when she wanted it, and by a thousand little atten- 
tions, trivial in themselves, not only endeared her- 
self to her parents, but was a bright and beaming 
star in the neighborhood, beloved of all who knew 
her. ^*To make the smoothest path for her par- 
ents,'' and *' the best of everything,'' was her motto. 
Young ladies should share the work of the house- 
hold with their mothers, whatever it may be. I 
have sometimes seen mothers overburdened with 
anxiety and care, with more real work than two 
women ought to do, and to save their daughters, 
toil into the small hours of the night to accomplish 
it. At the same time their daughters would either 
be engaged in reading the latest novel, or making 
articles for church fairs, forgetful of their mothers' 
need. Mothers should begin early to claim as- 
sistance from their daughters, before they have 
come to have a mind of their own. Too often they 
do not consider work an accomplishment, and re- 
fuse to help their tired, overworked mothers. I 
have had many years of observation, and have uni- 
versally found that children who were early taught 
that the mother's views were next to God's, and to 
disobey her in word or. deed was to offend Him, 

came to be good men and women ; while almost as 
II* 



248 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

SO weary at their toil, and have so little to stimu- 
late them to look well, that they grow indifferent, 
negligent, and sometimes slovenly. Children im- 
itate theij; example, and grow up as regardless of 
appearances as calves and colts ; such children, in 
after-life, can never acquire the love of order, or 
understand the fitness of things, as do those whose 
mothers, by precept and example, teach them sys- 
tem and neatness in all things. 

It is the duty of young women to study the de- 
sires and needs of their parents and those younger 
than themselves. If there is one solace more than 
another, which parents receive for the sleepless 
nights, their anxiety for their children's welfare, 
and their struggle to place them on a higher pin- 
nacle in life than they themselves occupy : it is to 
know these children are alive to their needs ; that 
they study to relieve them from care and annoy- 
ance ; that their little wants, as well as great ones, 
receive attention ; and that they in turn have an 
almost equal care of those younger than themselves. 
I once knew a young lady who seemed to take her 
greatest pleasure in looking over her mother's 
wardrobe, and preparing little surprises for her, 
such as replacing soiled ruffles in the neck and 
sleeves of her dress, mending or cleansing where it 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 249 

was needed, putting her clean linen near her just 
when she wanted it, and by a thousand little atten- 
tions, trivial in themselves, not only endeared her- 
self to her parents, but was a bright and beaming 
star in the neighborhood, beloved of all who knew 
her. ^*To make the smoothest path for her par- 
ents,'* and " the best of everything,'' was her motto. 
Young ladies should share the work of the house- 
hold with their mothers, whatever it may be. I 
have sometimes seen mothers overburdened with 
anxiety and care, with more real work than two 
women ought to do, and to save their daughters, 
toil into the small hours of the night to accomplish 
it. At the same time their daughters would either 
be engaged in reading the latest novel, or making 
articles for church fairs, forgetful of their mothers' 
need. Mothers should begin early to claim as- 
sistance from their daughters, before they have 
come to have a mind of their own. Too often they 
do not consider work an accomplishment, and re- 
fuse to help their tired, overworked mothers. I 
have had many years of observation, and have uni- 
versally found that children who were early taught 
that the mother's views were next to God's, and to 
disobey her in word or. deed was to offend Him, 
came to be good men and women ; while almost as 



250 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

surely those who were disobedient and irreverent 
became demoraHzed, and sometimes criminals. 

It is the duty of women to be patient and hope- 
ful ; to look on the bright side of all things. The 
best and noblest among us have been hampered 
and hindered by vexations ; been overwhelmed and 
almost discouraged by difificulties which seemed in- 
surmountable, and almost to thwart endeavor. To 
triumph over great obstacles renders us strong, and 
many times able to lift those around us out of 
their sorrows and despondencies. There is little 
glory or strength attained by doing what is easily 
accomplished. The oak standing alone in the field 
battling with the tempest strikes deep its roots, 
and toughens its fibers long after its forest-sheltered 
companion has crumbled to dust. 

Hamerton says : '^ However circumstances may 
help or hinder us, the intellectual life is always a 
contest or a discipline ; and the art or skill of living 
intellectually does not so much consist in surround- 
ing ourselves with what is reputed to be advanta- 
geous, as in compelling every circumstance and 
condition of our lives to yield us some tribute of 
intellectual benefit and force. The school of the 
intellect is where the individual happens to be, and 
the teachers are the surroundings. 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 2$ I 

We quote again from Hamerton : " Observe a 
man of the world whose opinions are well known 
to you ; notice the little pause before he speaks to 
a lady ; during that little pause he is thinking over 
what he has to say, so as to please her best, and 
you may be sure the integrity of truth will suffer in 
the process/' He pretends to be interested in her 
dress, and things which he knows she delights in ; 
while she ought to know he cares as little for them 
as for the winds in the arctic zone. She spends 
her time agreeably, but loses the chance of gaining 
real knowledge. Men do not tell the truth to 
women, because lies please them better ; and until 
women see through their deception and compel a 
change by being themselves honest and truthful, 
both parties must suffer, but men much less than 
women. '^ Where women have most culture, men 
are most open and sincere." 

It is the duty of women to improve every oppor- 
tunity for intellectual culture. Resources in this 
direction make them self-possessed and independent 
in conversation, which is an art in itself. To be 
able to converse well makes an ugly face attractive, 
and often plain features beautiful. Young ladies 
should be willing to forego the ordinary light con- 
versation at their gatherings, and form societies for 



252 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

improving it ; leaving out frivolity and gossip, tak- 
ing in its place subjects calculated to elevate the 
tone of society. A marked change from the pres- 
ent small talk would soon be manifest. ^^ Conver- 
sation is interesting in proportion to the originality 
of the central ideas which serve as pivots, and the 
fitness of the little facts and observations which 
are contributed by the talkers.'* Hamerton, in a 
letter to a lady friend, says : *^ It seems lamentable 
that every cultivated woman should be forced out 
of the society of her own sex, and made to depend 
upon ours for conversation of that kind which is 
an absolute necessity to the intellectual. The truth 
is, that women so displaced never appear altogether 
happy ; and culture costs so much downright hard 
work that it ought not to be paid for by any suffer- 
ing beyond those toils which are its fair and natu- 
ral price.'* 

It is every woman's duty to be alone with herself 
at least an hour each day. Solitude brings more 
communion of soul with soul than constant com- 
panionship. Time to digest each other's thoughts ; 
time to understand our own, and mature them ; 
time to absorb the contents of the intellectual 
stomach before another cramming, is as necessary 
as the food itself. When surrounded by society, 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 253 

we do not know our own minds ; we form incorrect 
judgments ; we are more or less deceitful. When 
alone, our thoughts exhale like the fragrance of 
flowers, and we feel growth and strength come to 
us. It must be a judicious and well-studied ar- 
rangement to have solitude and society so balanced 
that we are neither isolated nor bored. The great- 
ness of many minds is due to isolation. Shelley, 
Wordsworth, and Turner were isolated workers. 
All great thinkers are annoyed by talkers, who can 
not understand them, or appreciate their work. 
They can not do artistic work with observers who 
interfere in many ways. It depends upon the 
spirit and culture of friends if they help or hinder 
us. It is a duty of the greatest magnitude to care- 
fully select the books we read ; they affect our 
lives, and the lives of our friends, to such an ex- 
tent, and time is so short, that a selection from a 
few which will be particularly adapted to our individ- 
ual needs should receive the attention, and be read 
thoroughly, rather than to waste time in half read- 
ing a large number. As an incentive to recreation 
combined with intellectual improvement, reading 
societies have come into fashion with the young, 
and with well-to-do people. It would be a good 
thing for these to mingle with and encourage work- 



254 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

ing-women^ to have a reader appointed at their 
social gatherings, and some topic selected which 
would most instruct, interest, and help them. 
There are few w4th leisure who are willing to take 
a step outside *^ the set," as it is called, and mingle 
with common working-women, for fear of losing 
prestige with their friends. There are noble ex- 
amples which have come into my immediate knowl- 
edge, where the refined, the delicate, and sensitive 
lady has gone among the ragged and filthy girls in 
the large and wicked city, and worked early and 
late to teach them not only all the industries, cook- 
ing, sewing, cutting, and fitting; but stimulating 
them by giving them the garments they make. 

Reading and religious teaching were one exercise 
of each session. ^^ Let others go and do likewise.'* 
It is the duty of women to have independence and 
moral courage to ignore in custom what hinders 
their usefulness, or highest attainments. 

When the most cultivated women demand it, 
Dame Fashion will be the servant, and not the im- 
perious mistress she now is. She must be com- 
pelled by women in the highest walks of life, who 
possess common-sense, to make the clothing of 
women loose, light, and suspended from the 
shoulders. It must be of sufficient warmth to pro- 



DUTIES OF WOMEN. 255 

tect the body, and suited to all changes of the wea- 
ther. Those who desire to be distinguished from 
the multitude can use costly material as a charac- 
teristic. It would reflect a higher grade of intellect, 
however, if- noble deeds, instead of dress, were more 
sought after as a distinguishing mark. 

Women can not gather the force of character 
needed to inspire and guide a household if their 
time is wasted in following foolish and unhealthy 
fashions. Their need of a strong central authority 
is even greater than that of man in guiding and di- 
recting their power. They undertake too many 
things, and allow the education of their children to 
be too diffuse. 

It is the solemn duty of mothers to give such edu- 
cation, physical, mental, and moral, to their chil- 
dren that, if poverty should overtake them, as it has 
hundreds of thousands in our day, they shall be 
prepared to earn an honest living in the thing 
nature has done most to aid them. 

It is every woman's duty to give two hours, at 
least, in each day, to play ; absolute diversion from 
toil, anxiety, and care. She can do more work in 
a month, if this plan is systematically carried out, 
than by pulling at the oars continually. The kind 
of play or diversion must be well studied. If she 



256 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

is confined in-doors, going out must constitute this 
diversion, and it must be planned religiously not to 
work, but to forget it. In summer the woods, to 
those who live in cities, give the most and purest 
delight. 

At no far distant day the authorities will, we 
think, as a sanitary measure, furnish easy and cheap 
transit from the crowded marts to the deep, dense 
forests, where one may listen to the songs of birds, 
the rustle of leaves, and the murmur of brooks, and 
breathe the sweet, pure breath of heaven, giving its 
ozonous perfume for the healing of the weak and 
overworked pilgrims who seek their sacred retreats. 

To fly away from the haunts of men, 
To live our childhood over again, 
To think the world as pure and good 
As we in innocence thought it then, 
Would take away our sorrow and pain, 
And make life worth living over again. 

Women employ their thoughts and time too much 
in following the beaten track of custom. There are 
many pitfalls which might be avoided by stepping 
aside from it, so that the fresh inspiration of nature 
might rush into and create anew the healthy energies 
of many who might be leaders, instead of following 
in the ruts of those whose blunders only mislead. 



•DUTIES OF WOMEN. 2$/ 

With the birth of each new day nature presents 
new paths in which we are to find her treasures ; 
new leaves are opened on which we are to write our 
thoughts and inspirations. When in the attitude 
of students, it is surprising how much knowledge 
comes to us from the varied aspects of nature. The 
sunshine and storm, the winds and the waves, the 
heat and cold, teach lessons of wisdom if we give 
heed thereto. 

The apartments we live in, the people who eat 
with us at table, books, flowers, and animals, all give 
color to our education. These teachers should be 
invested with more charms, instead of looking so 
far from home for them. 

Misdirected energies and miscalculations discour- 
age many who would make greater attainments if 
more time were given to perfecting plans, and more 
attention to lessons of the past. 

To build well a home, mothers need the entire 
confidence and support of their husbands ; if this is 
lacking, few women are strong enough to conquer 
and train the impetuous youth of to-day. This is 
especially apt to be the case where no servant is 
kept ; the kitchen, sewing, and care of children 
occupy all hours, and women have no time to be 
agreeable. Want of time makes unfinished work ; 



258 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

those who love order chafe at this, and become 
irritable ; they do not cultivate the fireside virtues, 
which would correct many evil tendencies in grow- 
ing children. These hard-working mothers forget 
that with them, in great rneasure, lies the power to 
regenerate the world. They can not do this single- 
handed ; there must be co-operation between parents 
before a perfect manhood and womanhood can sup- 
plant the mental, moral, and physical weakness 
which now prevails. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 

The tendency of our social condition is to stimu- 
late the nervous system, and the deficient blood- 
making power too often fails to support it in its 
forced exertions. Here are the principal reasons 
why ^^ brain-building '' has proved with us so diffi- 
cult a problem, especially in the schools where our 
girls are educated. This accounts for the mental 
and physical indigestion which prevails among the 
young. More studies are undertaken than the mind 
can recognize and hold at the tender age of from 
twelve to sixteen years. More and a greater variety of 
food is given to children of this age than people at 
middle life should eat. The result is mental and 
physical deformities. If parents and teachers could 
be contented to take time for knowledge to be ab- 
sorbed like food — not interfering with one study by 
distracting the mind with another until it has fully 
mastered it and has time, like the tired stomach, 

(259) 



26o MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

to rest between meals — more knowledge and more 
judgment to use it would take possession of our 
youth. 

If the food could be well selected and the right 
quantity given at regular intervals, allowing noth- 
ing between meals, the teeth and the digestive ap- 
paratus would remain sound to old age. As the 
strength of the mind depends upon the healthy 
body, and as the food we eat makes the power or 
richness of our thought, is it not strange that this 
subject is so much ignored ? * If the brain received 
more care and could have its moral part fed with 
the right food, our sons would not as frequently grow 
into bank thieves or robbers of our public and pri- 
vate treasuries ; our daughters would have bodies 
which an artist would not scorn to paint, and heads 
which could hold something beside the latest style 
or the most sensational novel. 

There is less danger of injuring the muscles than 
the brain and nervous system by forcing. Imma- 
ture minds can not grasp and hold what, if first al- 
lowed to grow strong, they would drink in, as plants 
do dew, without effort. All instruction is made 
easier and more lasting which can be illustrated by 
charts and models. Memorizing to a degree 
strengthens the mind, but requires constant watch- 



THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 261 

ing. If a young person becomes restless at nighty 
talks in sleep of what he or she studies, it is time 
to interfere, change the subjects, and lessen the 
hours of application. The minds of students are 
weakened by forcing them. Nature always settles 
matters and pays with interest her honest debts. 
There ought to be more object-teaching in semina- 
ries and colleges, as well as in primary schools and 
kindergartens. Instead of moulding all minds into 
one particular shape, there should be discussion and 
inquiry and power developed to be an individual 
self. 

Besides killing a large army every year, many are 
rendered helpless invalids for life by the manner 
they are crowded through the schools and colleges. 
Buckle says there are many men whose intellects 
are ruined by the activity of their education. We 
very much doubt if the boys who are crowded 
through a full course of our most famous schools 
will be as well fitted for business, either active or 
professional, as their fathers were, who learned all 
they ever knew of books in the country school- 
house during the three months of winter when 
they could not work on a farm. They early learned 
that they were depended upon for that work which 
could not be done without them. They had no 



262 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, 

idea of having a purse of their father's gold. They 
understood what books they had, and had better 
ideas on many subjects than boys of the same age 
now who have been crammed with Greek and Latin 
and look brain-wearied and sickly. The nerve- 
force of this generation is exhausted, culture takes 
the place of muscular exercise, and they have little 
knowledge except of books. They entirely forget 
that the ojily knowledge which is of any avail to us 
is that zvhich we co7tstantly and habitually use. Too 
much schooling and too little practical knowledge 
is the rule among the children of the better classes. 
Girls as well as boys have all the life-force drained 
out of them by trying to force the brain. To make^ 
our meaning clear, we will give one well-authentica- 
ted example. 

In a late number of th^ Popular Science Monthly 
is the history of a young lady who was educated to 
death. We give it in the mother's own words : 

" At the age of fifteen Mary was a remarkably 
fine and healthy girl. She seemed to be safely 
over the critical period, and, till after that time, 
had never suffered as many girls do at the com- 
mencement of their womanhood. Her thinking 
powers were quick and vigorous, and she was the 
pride of her teachers and the joy of her parents. 



THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 263 

Unlimited mental progress was laid out for her, 
and it seemed that there were to be no bounds to 
her acquirements. 

** She had then finished a good common-school 
education at the best high-school, and had entered 
an institute for young ladies (a boarding-school) of 
the highest character. The curriculum of study 
there was comprehensive, and it required the closest 
application of an ambitious scholar to succeed. One 
hour was allowed for walking and recreation during 
the day, and half of that hour could be spent, if 
the pupil desired to do so, in the music-room. 

" As the months went on I began to notice that her 
complexion, which had been pure rose-leaf, became 
almost transparent, and that the fresh blood left 
her cheeks. Still she did not complain nor lose 
flesh, but said sometimes if she could sleep a week 
she would enjoy it, and that it almost always hap- 
pened that she had the most to do and the longest 
to stand when she was unwell. Her progress in her 
studies was wonderful, and it seems incredible to 
me now that we should have let her devote herself 
so entirely to them. Her musical talent was great, 
and that was also under cultivation. When she 
was seventeen she was the first soprano singer in 
the choir of the church to which she belonged- 



264 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

"At last I began to be alarmed at the remarkable 
flow whenever she was unwell, and at the frequent 
recurrence of the periodical function. I felt as if 
something, should be done, and consulted our 
family physician as to what could be given her, 
and how this increased action could be stopped or 
diminished. He prescribed iron as a tonic, but 
said we should do nothing more, for ^ every woman 
was a law unto herself,' and as long as nothing 
more serious occurred she should be let alone. 
This from a man who had daughters himself, and 
eminent in the profession ! Never a word about 
rest ; never a hint that she could overwork herself, 
and thus bring misery for the rest of her life. She 
left school in June of that year, with noble honors 
and an aching frame, and after two months' vaca- 
tion and rest, which seemed to do her a world of 
good, began another year of unremitting hard 
study. Loving and gratified parents, proud and ex- 
pectant teachers, looked upon her as capable of ac- 
complishing all that had ever been done by faith- 
ful students, and of advancing far beyond all who 
were in the graduating class with her. Her teach- 
ers were as kind as any could have been. I think 
the fault was in the system that requires so many 
hours for study, no matter what the condition of 



THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 265 

the pupil may* be. As an instance, twenty-five 
questions were given her to be answered ; she was 
seated at a table from 10 A.M. until 8 P.M., cease- 
lessly thinking and writing ; and the twenty-five ques. 
tions in classical literature were faultlessly answered, 
and that, too, at a time when, had I known what I 
now know, she should have been resting on her bed. 

'^ Her father, to whom the paper was shown for his 
approval, wrote on the margin : ^ It seems to me 
that the task imposed here was a great one indeed, 
but it has been performed with good success.* 

*^ I do not for a moment want to find fault with 
her teachers, for kinder, more interested ones no 
pupil ever had ; and the delight a teacher derives 
from a painstaking and appreciative pupil can not 
be understood by those unused to teaching. 

'' While the dear child w^as meeting our utmost re- 
quirements as a scholar, the foundations of her life 
were being sapped away. 

** In May, 1872, a little more than two weeks be- 
fore the June commencement, she was taken with 
fearful sickness and severe chills, just after one of 
the hemorrhages that came every three weeks regu- 
larly. Our doctor was called, and the first thing 
she said to him was : * Doctor, I must not be sick 

now ; I can not afford the time ; I must be well for 
12 



266 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS* 

commencement/ For four days she suffered very 
much, but quinine and all sorts of tonics brought 
her up, and the two weeks that should have been 
taken to get well in were spent in study, study, 
study ! All the examinations were passed success- 
fully, even brilliantly, and she was graduated with 
all the honors of the institution. 

" Oh, how proud we were of her ; and when she 
came home, frail and weak as a wilted flower, we 
said that she should have a long rest, and every 
comfort that we could give her. All summer she 
remained in the highlands of the Hudson; yet, 
when autumn came, she was not as much improved 
as we thought she ought to be, though very much 
improved with regard to the monthlies, their recur- 
ring at right times now. 

"In September she commenced studying again; 
her French and music were continued, so that she 
might become still more accomplished in those 
branches ; and lectures on rhetoric and moral 
philosophy were attended also. The habit of 
studying was so strong upon her that she could not 
give it up. Now came swelling of the joints and 
fingers, and the old trouble — all of which she would 
have kept to herself if she could have done so ; but 
I was so anxious about her that I ascertained her 



THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 26/ 

condition, went to the doctor again, and begged 
him to tell me what to do that would stop the 
weakening periodical disturbance, as I was per- 
suaded that was the cause of her trouble. He said 
she had inflammatory rheumatism, and prescribed 
soda, but I was not to do anything for the other 
matter, and, against my own convictions, I let things 
take their course. Oh, if he had only said, take 
her home and stop her studying. Armed with such 
authority, I should have done it ; and how do we 
know but she might have been with us now if I 
had done so? She worked till the 25th of Decem- 
ber, then came home, and said decidedly she would 
study no more till she was well. We w^ere rejoiced 
at her decision, for although we were anxious that 
her education should be complete and thorough, 
we had felt for a long time that her health was be- 
coming impaired ; still we were sure she had a good 
constitution, and thought that would carry her 
through. She did not grow thin, but stout and 
pale, and such a transparent pallor that, now I 
think of it, I wonder that all who looked at her did 
not see her blood was turning to- water. 

^^ Her sweet and lovely soul was so uncomplaining, 
and her smile always so bright, that we never for a 
moment thought she could fade and die. 



268 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

^' She brightened up somewhat during the next 
month, but still did not 'get well/ About the 
last of January her limbs swelled so much that in 
haste I rushed for the doctor; then he said her 
kidneys were congested, and that Bright's fatal dis- 
ease was her malady. All that despairing love 
could do was done now. In five short weeks we 
laid her in Greenwood. 

*' Whatever was the form of disease from which 
she suffered, I am convinced that it was brought on 
by incessant study, when she should have rested, 
and that it was fixed when she had the severe chill 
in May, 1871. She was by no means a frail girl 
when she entered the institute ; she was tall, finely 
formed, with a full, broad chest, and musical or- 
gans of great compass. Her bust was not large ; 
neither was it flat, as it might have been. Her feat- 
ures were not too large ; she had brown eyes, 
brown hair, a very sweet and pleasing face. With 
every indication at first of strength and a good 
constitution, she fell at last a victim to want of 
sense in parents and teachers, and (shall I say ?) of 
physicians, as well.'' 

Parents and teachers do not understand the kind 
and amount of teaching suited to each individual 
case. They have a curriculum, and push all alike 



THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 269 

through it. Those whose bent and inclination are 
suited to it succeed, if their nervous vigor is equal 
to the strain ; while others, just as well adapted for 
a different one, are marked as failures. 

" We can no more expect clear, well-defined ideas, 
where there is such an amount of cramming, than to 
expect a beautiful, well-defined, and satisfactory 
photograph, from a sitting before the instrument 
half the required time. One is a physical, the other 
a mental blur." 

A short time since I was a guest, for a night, in 
one of the magnificent homes, which are not as 
widely separated as they were fifty years ago in our 
country. I was met late in the evening by the eldest 
daughter, who conducted me to my apartments. 
On leaving, she said, '' Mamma will meet you in the 
parlor ; I must be excused, to finish my lessons." 
I remonstrated, telling her the days were long 
enough to study in ; that the evenings should be 
given to rest and recreation. ^^Oh ! but," says she, 
'^ my class shall not get ahead of me. Our algebra 
lesson is sixty pages, and I am bound to get every 
example ; besides, I am studying Greek, Latin, and 
half a dozen other things, and have not a moment 
to spare." 

Nature has done a great deal for this girl, and her 



270 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

mother before her; but I am sure she will soon be 
numbered among the wrecks we find all along the 
pathway of life, unless rest soon takes the place of 
this strife for emulation. (This occurred four years 
ago, and this girl is now, in appearance, an old 
woman.) Each one of us is, by nature, gifted for 
something. To this one talent, if it be but one, let 
us direct our education. Let us be content to be 
ourselves, and not imitators ; content to see and 
admire in others work which we can never expect to 
do ourselves. Competition is often a good stimulus 
to what is in us ; but if the force or spirit of art, in 
the direction we are working, be not born in us, we 
must look to the work for which nature has fitted 
us before we succeed. 

The competition and strife in schools must be 
modified into an ambition for each pupil to do his 
or her best, in following the natural bent of in- 
quiry which each possesses ; then, without competi- 
tion, or too critical examinations, everybody can be 
proficient in something. 

How often we see great brilliancy in youth 
obscured before the physical system has hardly 
reached maturity. 

How seldom is nature left to express herself, save 
may be in some bashful youth or maiden, who, in 



THE EVILS OF A FORCED EDUCATION. 2/1 

after-years, because they could not be pushed, blos- 
som into great men and women. 

The happiness which comes from doing our own 
work well should be no greater than that from ap- 
preciating and enjoying the perfect work of others. 
With sorrow I feel that sympathy with, and rever- 
ence for others, especially the aged, is on the de' 
cline. This nation, at least, lacks nothing in admi- 
ration of self. If we realize that the happiness and 
usefulness of others are increased by receiving the 
sympathy and appreciation which real merit de- 
serves, we shall ourselves be made better, and make 
the workers better by giving it. 

Untruthful flattery is detestable, and works a 
multitude of evils to all concerned. Reverence and 
respect are lessons which need teaching ; how to do 
our work rightly ; how to educate those who will 
repay for the toil, and leave those who can not, or 
will not, see work in its real elevating power, is the 
great question of to-day. Unlike one of our great 
teachers, we will try to relorm those who are '' out 
of form " and gone astray. 

The happiness of saving those who are yet pure, 
with no sear or blot upon their physical or moral 
nature, would bring the Kingdom of Heaven near. 
It is slow work, and the slowness of growth is what 



2/2 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

we most need to understand. We are rushing things 
so fast in these days that it seems impossible to get 
root. What is soon and easily learned is worth 
little. Gird on, then, the armor of patience, those 
of us who have the care of growing children. If 
they do wrong from not knowing, or from the deep 
unrest born within them, is it wholly their fault ? 

'' Who are most guilty, those who perish, or those 
who forget to save ? " 

" The learned are God's appointed messengers 
to guide the erring and untaught. 

'' Let us be active, and grow strong in our work. 
After we have finished it we shall be summed up in 
the aggregate, and put down as so much good or 
evil to humanity/' 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE CARE OF INFANTS. 

The most of women hope to become mothers, and 
therefore any subject which will tend to give us " an 
enlightened motherhood/' is important ; and this 
volume would not be complete without a few special 
and practical suggestions on the feeding and care 
of infants. Of the many works specially on this 
subject, " How to Feed the Baby,''"^ by Dr. Page, 
is the most recent ; and we are glad to draw from 
this source for some of the material in this chapter. 
His ideas may be considered by some as radical ; 
but it is certain, that the plan of feeding he recom- 
mends, is sure protection against worms, and many 
diseases of children ; and when sickness comes, 
there are many more chances in favor of a child 
thus fed, being able to withstand the disease, than 



* *' How to Feed the Baby, to Make Her Healthy and Happy. 
With Health Hints," by C. E. Page, M.D. i2mo, paper, 50 
cents ; extra cloth, 75 cents. Fowler & Wells, Publishers, 
753 Broadway, New York. 

12* (273) 



2 74 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

if allowed to follow the present fashion of gorging. 
Of this we are fully convinced, and a trial of the 
plan recommended can not make matters worse than 
at present, or the mortality greater. When Nature's 
laws are fully understood and children invoked in- 
stead of coming into the world uninvited, and some- 
times under protest, the death-rate will be lessened 
to an astonishing degree, and the diseases of chil- 
dren disappear. 

THE FEEDING. 

Dr. Page says : " During fetal growth the increase, 
except in monstrosities, is about one-third of an 
ounce per day. Why it should be deemed rational 
for this ratio to be increased six or seven hundred 
per cent, directly after birth, is beyond my compre- 
hension. In spite, or because of this hot-house forc- 
ing during the first few months, the usual weight at 
five years is less than if the rate of prenatal growth 
had been continued throughout these years. The 
excessive fat so generally regarded as a sign of a 
healthy babe, is as truly a state of disease as when 
it occurs at adult age. This disease finally culmi- 
nates in one of two things — a considerable period 
of non-growth, or a violent sickness which strips 
the muscles of fat, if not of life. 



THE CARE OF INFANTS. 2/5 

"Owing to a lack of knowledge on the part of 
parents, as to the requirements of children as to 
the kind and quantity of food, and of the symp- 
toms of a badly constituted, or excessive diet, there 
are very few well-fed children ; consequently, it is 
rare to find an individual who from infancy to old 
age has enjoyed the measure of health and comfort 
easily attained in most cases. An increase of one- 
half to one pound a week is simply rolling on fat, 
which means disease." 

This writer considers one pint of cow's milk suf- 
ficient' for an infant six months old ; make of this 
three meals — one at 6 A.M., 12 M., and 6 P.M. Only 
water at night. It should not be awakened out of 
sleep to eat. If more food is taken than is absorbed, 
it undergoes decomposition, giving rise to severe 
colic from generated gasses, and all sorts of troubles 
arise from this cause. The child takes cold easily, 
has constipation and indigestion, which often ter- 
minates with diarrhoea. It is frequently attributed 
to teething, when the real cause is the body is try- 
ing to perform its natural functions with an over- 
loaded stomach. Blood-poisoning comes from im- 
properly digested food. The maxim, Feed a cold 
and starve a fever, has killed thousands. As long 
as a person or child with a cold, overeats, he is 



276 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

more exposed to an increase of the cold. It needs 
to be impressed upon the minds of people that it 
is not the large quantity eaten, but the right quan- 
tity and quality, properly digested and perfectly as- 
similated, that alone can insure the best results. 
^* When this matter is better understood, the rear- 
ing of children will be a delight in the household, 
instead of a torment from which so many shrink, 
and which many avoid at the price of guilt/* Three 
or four meals in the twenty-fours hours are all that 
babes need. If the mother's breasts become pain- 
ful from the excess of milk, she can use a breast- 
pump. In all probability, in this case, she has taken 
too much food or too frequent meals. 

Overeating is no doubt the direct cause of the 
terrible mortality among infants. It takes longer 
to digest cow's milk than that of the mother. Con- 
sequently artificially fed children should go longer 
between meals to allow more rest for the stomach. 
Children fed in this way do not have colic, and are 
not disturbed by wetting the clothing at night. If 
the child is properly fed and dressed, and is other- 
wise rationally managed, there will be no need of 
sleepless nights on baby's account. And in a few 
days may become so regular in habits that the bun- 



THE CARE OF INFANTS. 2// 

died and pinned-up squares, which cause bow-legs, 
and sometimes curvatures of the spine, can be dis- 
pensed with entirely. 

In this age of mental, moral, and physical uncon- 
trolj parents should pause and consider if the indul- 
gence allowed a child in feeding, may not be the 
first step in his easily yielding to his desires and 
appetite in after-life. Habits are formed during 
the first month, and a child of that age cries for 
food, and because this stills him, he is allowed to 
gorge himself until he often cries from overfeeding. 
Drugs sometimes are then resorted to, and not until 
it is absolutely tipsy, or, in plain language, drunk, 
is it quiet, and its cries smothered. Daily repeti- 
tions soon give strength to habit, and upon open- 
ing its eyes from sleep, its mouth opens and con- 
tinues so, until the gorging process again begins. 
He cries for food, and cries because he eats too 
much. Babes should have nothing but the breast 
if it is possible for the mother to nurse them. 

It will seem to most persons who have been ac- 
customed to the old ways which we all have fol- 
lowed, entirely impracticable to follow out the ideas 
contained in Dr. Page's new book ; but being con- 
vinced, both from experience and observation, of 



278 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

their merit, I quote the entire appendix to the 
third edition of '^ How to Feed the Baby/' as this 
contains reasons and arguments on the feeding 
question which should be conckisive. The follow- 
ing is the ^'Appendix." 



Another year has rolled away — gone ; and with 
it have gone the usual proportion of children born 
within the year. The death-roll of Boston, for ex- 
ample (and the weeks are monotonously alike), for the 
current week — ending Aug. 5, 1882 — shows 108 deaths 
of infants under one year, in a total of 262 — three 
more than two-fifths. Disease of the digestive organs 
did the fatal business for seven-eighths of the number : 
cholera infantum, 65 ; diarrhoea, 9; dysentery, 6; in- 
flammation of the bowels, 8 ; marasmus, 8. The four 
disorders last named, figured largely in the adult mor- 
tality also, but have no connection with the figures 
given. Excepting the last item — marasmus — not one 
of these disorders would have been possible if those in- 
fants had been given pure food, though this were offered 
in only such amount as would have insured wasting 
to death ; that is, a starvation diet, or any quantity of 
food between this and the quantity best suited to in- 
sure the greatest thrift, could never, at any season of 
the year, excite any disorder on the list. The right 
amount would insure against all these disorders ; while 
a starvation diet, pure and simple, would produce a 



APPENDIX, 279 

painless wasting^ far preferable to the condition indi- 
cated by the term marasmus^ which, in practice, is 
preceded and accompanied by a great deal of suffering. 
As usual, editorial comments begin and end with reflec- 
tions on the weather : " the great mortality is due to 
heat/' If so, it is none the less, and nothing more or 
less, than Nature's protest against a winter diet in 
summer (/.^., all they want or can be induced to 
swallow) ; while the winter mortality is several times 
as excessive as it would be but for hot rooms (simu- 
lating a tropical climate without its fresh air) and an 
amount of food ample for the infant inhabitant of an 
ice-hut in Greenland. 

Says Dr. Oswald : ^^ The representative nurse be- 
lieves in cramming ; babies, like prize-pigs, are most 
admired when they are ready to die with fatty de- 
generation. The child is coaxed to suckle almost 
every half-hour, day after day, till habit begets a 
morbid appetite, analogous to the dyspeptic's stomach 
distress which no food can relieve till overrepletion 
brings on a sort of gastric lethargy." ^ 

It has elsewhere in this work been pointed out that 
the highest attention has long been paid to the breeds 
ing of handsome and healthy animals, and but little 
to the breeding of beautiful and healthy children. It 
is likewise true that the question of the feeding of 
cattle of all ages receives a great deal of attention ; 
improvements are suggested by experts, quite readily 
adopted by the *' laity," and so progress is made 



* ** Physical Education," p. 202. 



28o APPENDIX. 

from year to year. With the alimentation of human 
beings how different ! In the case of infants, indeed, 
the prevailing custom of feeding, among the most 
ignorant, is almost, if not quite, identical with the 
practices in vogue among the most elevated of our 
people. Among the lower animals the hog is the 
only really gross specimen to be found — the only one 
that corresponds in proportions to the babe who quite 
satisfies its parents, and is praised on every hand — 
and this creature is exceptionally fed for exceptional 
purposes, viz, to furnish the frying-pan with the ele- 
ments that tend to increase the disease of a dyspeptic 
race. But even here the reformer is at work. Refer- 
ring to the need of meaty instead of fat animals, a 
writer in \}i\^ American Agriculturist says: "Out-of- 
door pigs would not show so well at the fairs, and 
would probably be passed over by judges and people 
who have been taught to admire only the fat and 
helpless things which get the prizes. Such pigs are 
well adapted to fill lard-kegs, whereas the standard of 
perfection should be a pig which will make the most 
ham with the least waste of fat, the longest and 
deepest sides with the most lean meat ; it should have 
bone ^ enough to allow it to stand up and help itself 
to food, and carry with it the evidence of health and 
development in all its parts!' Suppose this last senti- 
ment — the natural outcome of the principle laid 



* A neighbor recently remarked upon the tenderness of their 
pig-pork, their own raising : ** Why, even the bones are so tender, 
they are almost as soft as the flesh itself." This is the condition of 
fat, ** rickety" children, also. 



APPENDIX, 281 

down by this writer, and which has been presented 
throughout this treatise — suppose this should be the 
guiding thought in the matter of rearing infants, and 
the same interest manifested by parents to learn how 
to feed their children all the way along ! " Infantile 
diseases'' would figure very lightly in the death-roll, 
as compared with the present experiences. 

It was in the hope of promoting this much-needed 
change that this book was published last year ; and 
while the reform so desirable has not swept over the 
nation to its complete conversion, still the highest 
expectations of both author and publishers have been 
fully met in its reception and approval by the general 
public, as well as by the medical fraternity. 

[From the Boston J-ournal of Chemistry, Aug., 1882]. 
FEEDING THE BABY. 

The following is for the new issue of Dr. C. E. 
Page's *' How to Feed the Baby," which, though first 
published a little more than a year ago, has already 
reached a third edition, owing its success largely to 
its having been approved by many of our best phy- 
sicians, though the system it advocates is in direct 
opposition to all the established customs and tradi- 
tions of nurses. Regarding the pernicious custom of 
constant feeding, Dr. Page says : 

" The mother who essays even so mild a reform as 
the restriction of her new-born babe to a 'square 
meal ' every three hours is likely to change nurses 
several times before finding one who will permit such 
* cruel nonsense.' 



282 APPENDIX, 

" Those who advocate non-restriction in the nurs- 
ing or bottling of infants are fond of asserting that 
colts, kittens, puppies, etc., under natural conditions, 
* nurse all the time,' and they ask. Why shouldn't 
babies have the same liberty ? 

"' People who argue thus do not consider the fact 
that babies are not often as * naturally ' supplied as 
young animals of the lower order. In some respects 
our civilization works adversely to the interests of 
the * race of infants ^ few of our modern women are, 
strictly speaking, ' natural mothers '; too often the 
aliment supplied by them is affected injuriously by 
the unnatural conditions incident to their mode of 
life; The milk may be excessive in amount and de- 
ficient in q-uality — an evil which frequent nursing 
tends to increase. Often it is deficient both in quan- 
tity and quality, and is thought to be in some in- 
stances, when, in fact, it is not ; and in other instances 
it is found impossible to, and some mothers will noty 
nurse their babies : hence the great number of cases 
where resort is had to cow's milk, which, though 
doubtless the best substitute when properly prepared, 
is still a strictly natural aliment for the calf only, 
being much ' stronger ' than breast milk, and requiring 
a longer time for digestion. 

" Again, the little animals referred to — puppies, for 
example — really spend comparatively little time in 
eating, although it is quite true that they make a 
great to-do about it, and do devote quite a share of 
their waking moments to efforts in this direction : {a). 
A great portion of the time when they appear to be 



APPENDIX, 283 

quietly regaling the ' inner dog' with their ^favorite 
prescription/ a close inspection discloses the fact that, 
with their noses simply buried from sight, they are 
sleeping, and not eating. {B), Another goodly por- 
tion of time is spent in a blind hunt for the nipple, 
in rolling about, in Aground and lofty tumbling/ push- 
ing, pulling, crowding, and badgering one another, 
each in the notion that the other has found it and is 
getting ahead of him, and 'isa the effort to steal his 
brother's dinner, {c). They spend a good deal of 
time in vigorous efforts after the supply is exhausted ; 
they shift from one nipple to another, and ^ when 
they get there, the cupboard is bare.' Thus they 
manage to take a great deal of exercise, while getting 
comparatively little milk. Finally, while the supply 
is usually equal to their needs, it seems never to be in 
excess — diet and exercise being so well related to each 
other that the entire organism is normally developed. 
'^ How different with babies ! These, supplied from 
a full breast or bottle, fill themselves quickly and 
without effort — surely a contrast worth considering, 
more especially since the contrast in their physical 
condition is equally marked : lean and healthy in the 
one case ; fat and ailing in the other. It is true that 
when the natural diet is supplemented with cow's 
ijiilk, or when they are weaned and are fed to excess, 
puppies are made ill — have fits, that are attributed to 
their having ' swallowed a tooth ' (of the size of a 
pin-head), instead of to the gross diet supplied ; but 
as a rule they are rarely sick, and never have the 
disease so common, almost universal, in infancy, and 



284 APPENDIX, 

SO much dreaded in adult life — fatty degeneration. 
Appearances are often deceptive : a novice who will 
take the trouble, however, to examine the fattest- 
looking kitten or puppy, will be surprised to find him 
made up of a very bony frame, muscles, tendons, and 
over all a loose skin, in no degree stuffed out with fat. 
As a rule — I have never observed an exception — the 
nurslings of animals are never fat, never even border 
upon that state ; while human parents are never quite 
satisfied unless their babies' cellular tissues are storing 
up fat globules at the rate of a pound a week, an in- 
variable precursor of — disease, shall I say ? It is 
disease, and almost inevitably culminates in a sick- 
ness that robs them of the fat, if not of life. From a 
careful consideration of these points, it would seem 
that what nature alone accomplishes in the case of 
the young of the lower animals — normal growth and 
exemption from disease during the nursing period — 
demands, on the part of parents and attendants, the 
exercise of rare judgment, as well as care, in the ali- 
mentation of their little charges, in order to secure 
anythirfg like the same happy results.'' 

A very common remark with parents, in calling at- 
tention to the fat-swollen limbs of the little ones, is, 
'^ See how hard his flesh is ! " Of course, it is not flesh 
at all — the flesh is buried far beneath it — but fat, and 
not his own at that, but that of the creature from 
which the milk is drawn, or, if the subject of the re- 
mark is of older growth, whether child or adult, "the 
fat with which his cellular tissue is stuffed is that of 
the animals from which the meat, the butter, and 



APPENDIX. 285 

the cream were derived, and has been transferred 
unchanged. It is true that no creature living is al- 
together devoid of fatty matters ; the healthiest, 
body has, within the hollow bones, and about va- 
rious localities, what may be called a normal amount 
of fat ; and the mother's milk, in the case of an 
infant, or a well-balanced vegetable diet, in that of an 
adult, furnishes this in abundance; and if alimenta- 
tion is carried to excess, there will be an excess of 
fat deposited, though the fat of animals constitutes no 
part of the diet. It has been taught by physiologists 
'* that the fat of the body is not derived directly from 
the fat of the food. But from statistical analysis 
Hoffmann, according to the Lancet, has arrived at the 
conclusion that the formed fat of the animal body 
arises not only from heterogeneous elements of the 
food, but also in part, at least, from ingested fat. 
Radzcejewsky concludes that the special destination 
of this fat is the intramuscular adipose tissue. A 
series of investigations, undertaken by Lebedeff in 
the clinical department of the Pathological Labora- 
tory at Berlin, leads him also to the conclusion that 
the ingested fat is deposited unchanged in the fatty 
tissue of the body. Two dogs were kept fasting for 
a month, losing in the time about 40 per cent, of . 
their weight. Previous experiments have shown 
that under these circumstances all the fat of the body 
disappears. The dogs were then fed on a diet which 
consisted of large quantities of fat foreign to their 
own 'nature, and a small quantity of flesh. Both dogs 
regained their normal weight in three weeks, and 



286 APPENDIX, 

were then killed. One had been fed on linseed oil, 
and from its tissue was obtained more than a kilogram 
of fatty oil, which did not become solid at the freez- 
ing-point of water, and which corresponded closely in 
chemical character to linseed oil. The second dog 
was fed on mutton suet, which had a boiling point 
about 50° C, and in its body, in the muscles, about 
the internal organs, and beneath the skin, a form of 
fat was found which was almost identical with suet. 
.... Thus it would appear that ingested fat, even 
such as is foreign to the individual constitution, may 
yet become transformed directly into the fatty tissue * 
of the animal. Other experiments of the same investi- 
gator seem to show that this is true also of milk fat." 
This explains, at least in part, why consumptives 
become fat on milk, or cod-liver oil and whisky, for 
example, and are said, often, to be ** improving/* and 
yet a few months later, die of their disease. They 
are, in fact, hurried to the grave by a diet really 
very much more unwholesome than that which origi- 
nated, or aided largely in producing, their disease. 
This artificial fat is as abnormal, as much a foreign 
element, as though the oil had been injected under 
the skin and the tissues stuffed out mechanically; 
while the alcohol exerts an influence to prevent the 
normal excretion of waste matters. 



* The proper name is cellular tissue. It can not be called " fatty " until 
these abnormal elements have been deposited therein. Its primary office is 
not the retention of such matters, though it does, upon occasion, serve to 
** relieve the body, to some extent, of the immediate effects of excessive ali- 
mentation, by affording a reservoir for suiplus animal fo.t." 



APPENDIX. 287 

CONCERNING THE SWATHING OF NEW-BORN 
INFANTS. 

It is, of course, not necessary to remind physicians, 
but it is not popularly known, that while the general 
circulation of the unborn babe is, in many respects, 
like that of the breathing creature, the blood, pro- 
pelled by the maternal heart and entering at the 
navel, passes through the two auricles of the foetal 
heart, which communicate by means of the foramen 
ovale, instead of passing through the auricles and 
ventricles in the regular order ; and that up to the 
moment of birth and until inflated by the act of in- 
spiration the lungs are dense and solid in structure. 
When, then, the babe is born, and comes under the 
necessity of having his blood propelled to and from 
his lungs by the action of his own heart, certain 
transformations take place. 

I now come to the point of connecting the changes, 
or certain of them, that take place at birth : (i) the 
lungs change from their "dense and solid structure,*' 
the air-cells are opened for life ; (2) the opening be- 
tween the two auricles of the heart is forever closed ; 
(3) "' the pulsation of the cord, which is usually strong 
and distinct, ceases in ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes 
after birth, and the portion attached to the child 
shrinks and falls off in five or six days." The point 
I have in view is this, viz. : the treatment or dressing 
necessary for the navel at birth. We observe that it 
is physically impossible to even attemgt to aid nature 
either in opening the., lungs or closing the foramen 



288 APPENDIX, 

ovale. Is it not possible that ^^ doctoring '' the rem- 
nant of the cord, as commonly practiced, is foolish-— 
foolish in the sense of being needless, and especially 
because unnatural and injurious to thus bandage the 
body ? '* What ! would you leave that portion of the 
cord to grow hard and hang unprotected, with the 
danger of rupture always imminent?'* Let us see. 
How much less does this reasoning apply to a care- 
fully-tended (I might well say overtended) babe than 
to the puppy or kitten, who begins immediately his 
blind fight for life — pulling, hauling, rolling, tum- 
bling, straining every muscle, from the moment he 
comes into the world? And yet no one is stupid 
enough to even tie a string about the remnant of cord 
left by the mother, who devours the " after-birth '* 
and the cord to within an inch or two of the body of 
her new-born. No sweltering flannel bandage is ap- 
plied about the little loins — no nuisance of any sort 
is committed upon this little child of nature. I am 
not alone in asserting that it is an act of barbarism 
to thus bandage a new-born babe. Hundreds of men 
have given this subject thought enough to be able to 
declare this, and emphatically. How, then, does it 
come about that this practice prevails world-wide? 
How was it first introduced? I can account for its 
introduction in no other way than this: observing 
the fact that stomach-distention, from excessive feed- 
ing, sometimes resulted in what is termed umbilical, 
rupture (or the fact of rupture alone without con- 
necting it with the question of diet), it was by some 
wiseacre deemed necessary as a protection. 



APPENDIX. 289 

Now, I can conceive that in case of an imperfectly 
developed infant, one whose tissues are unsound at 
birth, because of the unhygienic habits of the mother, 
(a greedy infant and a foolish mother — knowing no 
restriction,) that it should seem expedient to apply a 
bandage sufficiently snug to prevent such distention 
of the stomach as would tend to burst away the 
tissues at this comparatively exposed point. It is 
possible that there are some thinking physicians 
(thoughtless ones, who compose the vast majority, 
following all customs blindly), even now, who, in view 
of the inevitable cramming to which infants are sub- 
jected, consider that in general the bandage is the 
least of two evils. Some of the most intelligent 
ones, however, believe that sweltering the parts in 
this manner increases the danger of rupture by pre- 
venting the normal nourishment and strengthening 
of the tissues involved, besides affecting injuriously 
the kidneys, and, in fact, the entire organism. I, my- 
self, believe this to be the case. In any event, how- 
ever, when the question concerns a healthy-born babe, 
and a properly-fed one, from no point of view, except 
that of gross ignorance — inexcusable ignorance, if 
upon the part of a practicing physician — can any 
such appliance be deemed other than intolerable. In 
the case of a million such infants, thus fed, there 
could never be a single case of rupture — never one ; 
nor would any other ailment ensue, as a result of 
neglecting to bind a swathe about the body. From 
only one point of view can an intelligent person, 
physician or layman, even hesitate in condemning 



290 APPENDIX, 

the practice in toto, viz. : to prevent excess in diet to 
the point of abnormally distending the stomach ; and 
even here the sober second thought must decide 
against the practice, for the untrammelled body, un- 
restricted in its circulatory system and in the proper 
ventilation of the skin, can better withstand any de- 
gree of excess in diet without, than the relatively 
greater system with, the swathe. If the simple 
presentation of this matter is not sufficient to induce 
physicians to discountenance the practice and to urge 
parents to abandon it, no amount of argument, as it 
seems to me, would avail. How easy and how com- 
plete, to tie a soft rag around the remnant of the 
cord, dress the babe with the diaper (exercising mercy 
as to the number and tightness of these appliances), 
loose shirt, soft flannel gown, and easy slip ; and, how 
comforting such treatment to the little creatures who 
are so utterly dependent upon our intelligence and 
care. What delight would be experienced in the 
household, with the advent of a baby who should be 
dressed in this fashion, have the freshest and purest 
air attainable, day and night, and have from a really 
healthy mother's breast, or. from a healthy cow, food 
enough, and little enough to prevent disease — ^.whether 
the meals were three or six, or a few mouthfuls al- 
lowed at an indefinite number of luncheons at indefi- 
nite hours ; for it is not three meals, simply, that is 
the question, but the avoidance of surfeit and of all 
the wretched evidences of it, as obesity,^ bowel and 



* WTiatever a healthy infant gains in weight above, say, three to five 
Ounces a week, as the weeks go along from birth to the age of one year, is 



APPENDIX. 291 

stomach troubles, and the scores of minor ails which 
lead on to the so-called infantile diseases. 



not bone and muscle, but fat. I have raised a pair of terrier puppies whose 
weight at birth was, the female io| and the male 11 ounces, whose gain in 
weight was about 10 ounces per week, week after week, until full grown ; but 
with them full size was reached in about 16 weeks, while a human infant, 
whatever the system of diet adopted, requires more than as many years to 
attain maturity. These puppies, whose manner of feeding and of eai-mng 
their food as they gathered it was as different from that of babies as their 
rate of growth, never, at any stage of growth, had a particle of adipose 
matter observable over or about them, but were throughout, like their mother, 
"lean," healthy, and happy. 

I have cited the animal kingdom in proof of the fact that no7'maI gj'owth 
is utterly removed from any resemblance to the conditions usually observed 
in the case of the human infant ; that it is always a lean, lank or spindling 
(not pindling) condition. I desire now to call attention to the further fact, 
equally signiiicant and corroborative of my position, that the same law ob- 
tains throughout the vegetable kingdom : the saphngs of all trees, the slips 
of plants as they grow along, rose bushes, berry bushes, etc., etc., all spindle 
along up in their growth ; and even the cabbage, which at adult age inclines 
to embonpoint^ is very slim in build through infancy and youth. It is not 
necessary to particularize further on this point ; enough has been said to lezid 
sound-thinking persons to sound conclusions. 

{End of Appendix to ''How to Feed the Baby!'') 



In regard to dressing the new-born child, I can 
not speak from experience in leaving off the band. 
My method has been to cut a hole in linen, cover 
it with mutton tallow, and slip the end of the cord 
through it, then wind another piece four inches 
long around the cord and keep it saturated in pure 
table oil. With safety-pins, fasten a flannel band 
around the body loosely, after laying a piece of 
cotton-wool over the belly of the child. This in 



292 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

no way interferes with its comfort, but rather pre- 
vents danger from injury in handling until the 
cord falls off. If it is left to dry, it is likely with 
the most careful handHng to become irritated, and 
emit a bad odor. Of the two thousand cases we 
have attended, no accident or rupture has occurred. 
I like the flannel band, and retain its use until after 
the child passes safely through teething ; and in 
many instances until it is five years old. A piece 
of tape may be fastened to it, and pinned in with 
the diaper to hold it down until the millennial 
days come ; when babies do not need diapers, I 
would still retain the warm, soft, loosely fastened 
flannel belly-band. I give this as my own experi- 
ence, and would simply add, mothers may consider 
it safe to try the new way at least. 



CHAPTER XX, 

MISCELLANEOUS. 



COLIC 

of any sort, either from cold or overeating, wheth- 
er in infants or grown people, should not be con- 
sidered a 'Might affliction." Sometimes a portion 
of the small intestines is partially drawn within 
itself, or becomes closed by pressure of gas or 
undigested food. If not relieved inflammation and 
serious consequences sometimes follow. Hot ap- 
plications over the entire abdomen, and if able to sit 
up put the feet into, hot water, usually relieves pain. 
If nausea, and drinking largely of very hot water 
does not relieve, a physician should be called. One 
of the reasons why heat relieves pain is '' it thins 
the fluids of the body and renders their passage 
through the vessels easier. It also makes the walls 
of the vessels flexible, and the retained substances 
can pass with less resistance.'' 

To prevent colic, and secure the best artificial 

food for babies, let new milk from a healthy cow 

(293) 



294 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

stand two hours and remove the cream. Warm 
the milk to the natural temperature by putting a 
cup into hot water, and feed the child in nature's 
way. It drinks too rapidly from the cup, and the 
saliva is not mixed with the food. Indigestion 
comes from using too rich milk, or by diluting the 
food with water. Babies are often thirsty, and 
water should be given them several times between 
the feeding in small quantities, but not when food 
is in the stomach, as it dilutes the gastric juices, 
and retards digestion. Dr. Lawson says : ^' When 
children throw up milk after nursing, or being 
fed, they have been overfed. Nature protests 
against the greed of the child, and the ignorance 
of the mother.'' 

CUTS, 

The edges of a fresh cut should be drawn closely 
together by narrow strips of adhesive plaster, and 
covered with a light compress wet with water and 
a few drops of arnica tincture. If doing well the 
plaster should not be removed until the wound is 
healed. 

BRUISES. 

A bruise should be treated with fomentations of 
water as hot as the patient can bear it, and continued 



MISCELLANEOUS. 295 

until all pain ceases. It should then be covered 
with a light compress wet in equal parts with glyc- 
erine and water, into which a few drops of arnica 
are added. This should not be allowed to dry. 

BURNS 

should be covered instantly with vaseline, and pro- 
tected from the air. If this is not at hand, fresh 
lard mixed with flour with a knife, and laid smooth- 
ly on linen, does well. Perfect protection from the 
air is absolutely necessary. 

SEVERE CHILL. 
If the patient is not able to sit up with the feet 
in hot water, lay a folded flannel in the bed, and 
cover the feet and legs with a hot w^et towel, and 
put hot bricks or rubber bags filled with hot water 
about the bed. Give all the hot water the patient 

» can drink until warm, and perspiration sets in, or 
the kidneys begin to act. (After a profuse perspi- 
ration, the patient should be rubbed with a dry 
towel all over the body before attempting to get 
out of bed, and put on warm dry flannels.) 

Aconite and Bell, 3X, if high fever follow without 
perspiration, and the head suffers, dose half-hourly. 
If pain in the bones instead of the head, Rhus' tox 

. — same strength and time. It is always better to 



296 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

get on without remedies if possible, and the longer 
we live the greater confidence we feel in nature's 
power to cure. 

It is a comfort to live long enough to see drugs 
banished from many homes, and feel the blessed 
assurance that the people are learning God's laws 
in their own bodies. 

CHILDBIRTH. 

In childbirth, if labor comes on suddenly and no 
physician is at hand, there need be no fear. Be 
sure the child's face is turned upward, so that the 
fluids may not be drawn in with its first breath. 
Many children have been lost in this way by suffo- 
cation. Let the child lie upon its back or side until 
the cord stops beating, and then tie it two inches 
from its body, and with dull scissors cut it, and 
wait for the expulsion of the placenta (or after- 
birth). If there is flooding, lower the head and 
shoulders of the patient, and maintain firm pressure 
over the region of the womb, and also at the vulva, 
and give ten drops of tincture of ergot every twenty 
minutes until better or help arrives. 

NOSE-BLEED. 
By carefully feeling above and below the eye 
upon the bone, little notches or uneven places can 



MISCELLANEOUS. 297 

be felt where the artery pierces the skull. A little 
persistent and firm pressure will usually stop the 
bleeding ; cold compresses sometimes, and some- 
times hot (if cold fails), act promptly. Children ad- 
dicted to nose-bleed should be well fed on milk, 
fruit, and beef. Murdock's Liquid Food is con- 
densed blood, and readily enters the circulation. 
It is very useful in faintness from loss of blood, or 
extreme weakness of the stomach which renders 
digestion difficult. It is not medicine, but often 
acts as a tonic ; aiding the stomach in digesting 
ordinary food, and is particularly useful after pro- 
tracted sickness. In all cases of emergency, where 
there is doubt and great anxiety, be cautious and 
never lose self-possession. Great harm is often done 
by trying too many things. 

SWALLOWING PENNIES AND PINS. 

Do not give cathartics. Eat bread, and take two 
tablespoonfuls of table oil, once in three hours for 
a day, or until the substance is disposed of. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE THROAT. 

Stand the patient on head and strike the back 
suddenly. Breathe a small powder of pulverized 
13* 



298 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

blood-root (sanqumaria), which causes violent sneez- 
ing and coughing. 

TREATMENT FOR DROWNING. 

Hold the head of the patient downward to allow 
the water to run from the lungs. At the same 
time imitate respiration. 

Strip off wet clothes as quickly as possible. 
Wrap in warm blankets and surround the patient 
with hot bottles. Give injection of hot water. 
Keep up artificial breathing continually for an 
hour. Use (carefully) ammonia to the nostrils. 
Slapping the surface of the body is sometimes 
beneficial. 

To produce artificial respiration, turn the body 
on the side and a little beyond, and then quickly 
on the face ; making gentle pressure on the back 
of the chest each time the body is rolled over. 
Lift the arms gently (when all clothing is removed) 
upward by the side of the head until the elbows 
nearly touch each other. Expiratory effort is per- 
formed by restoring the arms to the side of the 
chest, and slightly pressing them against it. Gen- 
tle pressure may be made upon the lower part of 
the chest and abdomen each time the arms are 
drawn up. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 299 

After an hour of persistent effort, if no sign of 
life is perceptible, it is probable life is extinct. 

FOR BEE AND HORNET STINGS 

camphor and ammonia externally, and one drop of 
camphor internally. 

SNAKE BITES. 

Give stimulants freely ; put a ligature around 
the limb as quickly as possible, and apply a tube 
two or three inches long over the wound and suck 
out the virus if possible. Take carbonate of ammo- 
nia five grains every two hours for two days. 

BITES OF RABID ANIMALS. 

Cut out the part and cauterize immediately. 
Elecampane and milk have been successfully em- 
ployed in hydrophobia. 

OBESITY, OR EXCESSIVE FAT, 

has come to be so common, and makes of women 
such frightful deformities, a description of the 
modes of cure or alleviation may well come in this 
chapter of emergencies. In another chapter are 
some rules for lessening the fatty tissue, and pro- 
moting the health, which such persons describe as 



300 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

'' too good'' ; not knowing that in many, instances, 
it is as much disease as small-pox, if it is not like 
it, and often harder to cure. How any sane woman 
can neglect to attend to the thorough examination 
of causes which favor this abnormal development 
of fat, at the expense of her strength (and beauty 
in most cases), and allow her body to grow unwieldy 
and unlovely ; how she can eat between meals 
and at bedtime, and as in many cases which I have 
treated, allow the formation of a habit of beer- 
drinking, is past finding out. If any shall, in read- 
ing these lines, awake to the voice of conscience, 
and begin in earnest to retrace their steps, the fol- 
lowing suggestions may help them. 

Before we go farther let me say, that the efforts 
must be persistent, and the idea of rest (which, to 
such persons, is the sweetest word in the language) 
put out of mind. First in regard to exercise. Walk 
all you can before retracing your steps. Sit down 
and rest five minutes, then return to your home 
and eat ; ordinarily two oranges, a slice of beef- 
steak, a small piece of bread the size of three fingers, 
and drink a cup of hot water. Rest an hour ; then 
exercise about the house in as vigorous work as 
possible if that is your duty. If you have no need 
to work with your hands, ride three hours on horse- 



MISCELLANEOUS. 3OI 

back. Carriage riding is useless. Res't an hour 
after riding or working. Then take a salt-sponge 
bath over the entire surface of the body, with vig- 
orous rubbing, lasting thirty minutes. The more 
exercise in fresh air the faster the fat disappears. 
An hour before lunch the juice of a lemon may 
be drank with half a goblet of water, but no sugar. 
For dinner eat either beefsteak, roast beef, or beef 
chopped fine and made in patties and broiled, with 
baked sour apples. A little hot water, or claret, 
and claret and water, may be used. Sleep as little 
as possible and avoid inaction. In bad weather 
walking up and down in the room at a rapid rate, 
and gymnastics, are promoters of metamorphosis of 
the fatty tissue. 

For supper stewed dried peaches or plums ; a 
piece of cold roast beef or lamb, a small slice of 
bread, with no sugar or butter, and a cup of weak 
tea or hot water. A long walk after supper before 
going to bed. This faithfully carried out for six 
months, or until the size is reduced to a rational 
stand-point, will have caused the stomach to grow 
smaller, and the appetite will be better satisfied 
with this reduced quantity of food than it was when 
these were unlimited. . 

In pursuing this dietetic treatment the bodily 



302 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

strength increases, the blood is of a better color 
and character, while the size and weight decrease, 
and all the physical functions become more ani- 
mated. All things considered, the waters of Carls- 
bad Thermal Springs, in Austria, are the best for 
corpulency. Sprudel Spring is the strongest water, 
and must be used moderately at first. Take a 
glass an hour before breakfast, avoiding strong 
tea and coffee in all cases, and following the 
rules in diet above described. Unless directed by 
a physician, only two glasses should be used daily, 
an hour or two before breakfast and before the 
evening meal. All fatiguing and exciting work or 
amusement must be avoided while using the waters. 
This water can be obtained in Chicago at the whole- 
sale house of Schimpferman & Co., Importers ; and 
in New York of P. Scherer & Co., No. ii Barclay 
Street. 

RULES FOR BATHING. 

The following summary of the General Rules ap- 
plicable in all cases, is copied from *^ The Bath : Its 
History and Uses."'^ 

I. Never bathe soon after eating. 



* In " The Bath : Its History and Uses in Health and Dis- 
ease," by R. T. Trail, M.D., from which these rules are copied, 
will be found complete instructions for bathing of all kinds and 



MISCELLANEOUS. 303 

2. A full bath should not be taken less than three 
hours after a full meal. 

3. Do not take any cold bath when in a state of 
chilliness or fatigue. 

4. Always have the feet comfortably warmed, by 
fire, hot water, or exercise, at the time of taking 
any cold bath. 

5. If inclined to headache, wet the head with 
cool water before bathing. 

6. Never drink cold water just before bathing. 

7. Do not eat soon after bathing. An hour 
should elapse after a full bath, and half an hour 
after a local bath, before taking a meal. 

8. Local baths, as hip, foot, etc., may be taken 
an hour after a light, and two hours after a full, 
meal. 

9. Patients who are able, should exercise before 
and after bathing. If not able to exercise, and in- 
clined to chilliness, they should cover up in bed for 
an hour after bathing. 

10. No strong shock, by means of the shower or 
douche, should be made on the head. 

11. After bathing, do not sit in a draught of cold 
air, nor allow the feet to become cold. 



for all purposes, whether in health or disease, and a complete 
history of the Bath in all ages. Price, 25 cents, by mail, post- 
paid. Fowler & Wells, Publishers, 753 Broadway, N. Y. 



304 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

12. During the menstrual period, no cold baths 
should be taken. 

13. Avoid all very co.ld or very hot baths in all 
cases of great debility, local congestions, or deter- 
minations of blood to particular parts ; also, all 
processes which disturb the circulation, as shower, 
douche, and plunge baths. 

14. Great heat of the body, or perspiration, is no 
objection to any form or kind of bath, provided the 
respiration is not disturbed, nor the patient in a 
state of fatigue. 

15. When two or more baths are administered 
daily, the principal and coldest one should be taken 
in the forepart of the day. 

16. All full baths, except the warm, are better in 
the morning or forenoon, than in the afternoon or 
evening. 

17. When baths are taken regularly every day, 
they should be omitted occasionally, as one day in 
a week, or two or three days in a month. 

18. Whenever the patient feels dependent on 
any particular form of bath, and persists that he 
can not do without it, some other should be sub- 
stituted for a few days. 

19. Patients should never take a bath so cold 
that fatiguing exercise is necessary to ^^ get up re- 



MISCELLANEOUS. 305 

action/' The better way is to use water of a milder 
temperature. 

20. Very feeble persons should have the water 
for all bathing purposes at nearly the neutral tem- 
perature, which is 90°, varying but a few degrees 
above or below. 

DIRECTIONS FOR EXERCISES GIVING STRENGTH 
TO THE CHEST AND ABDOMINAL MUSCLES. 

With clothing perfectly loose, stand erect with 
the arms perpendicular, raise the hands slowly, 
keeping the arms extended until they meet, palm 
to palm, over the head ; then let them as slowly 
descend until they meet palm to palm behind the 
back or in front, alternating these positions. The 
arms should go up and down to correspond with 
the respirations, fifteen or twenty per minute. In- 
halation should take place when the arms ascend, 
and expiration as they descend. The mouth should 
always be shut when walking or in any exercise for 
regaining the strength. For indigestion, dyspepsia, 
and constipation, strike the abdominal muscles with 
the flat hand, after a little with both hands, ten to 
fifteen minutes, three times daily, especially when 
going to stool. Rubbing and kneading the entire 
body all over half an hour daily will help greatly 



306 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

to restore the strength, if it can be done by a strong, 
healthy person. 

EARACHE 

causes parents and guardians enough trouble to 
make relief at the earliest moment desirable, with- 
out considering the intense sufferings of the patient. 
Babies cry with earache after being out of doors in 
cold or damp weather with insufficient covering on 
the head. A cap with a lining of cotton wadding 
should always be used when this trouble follows 
such exposure. This is better than putting cotton 
in the ears. Cloths wrung out of as hot water as 
can be borne usually relieve, but make the child 
sensitive ; steam is best, and can be applied by 
heating a flatiron and laying a damp cloth over the 
hot iron. It requires close watching. Tobacco 
smoke blown through the stem of a clay pipe into 
the ear, holding as near as possible without burning, 
has many times given instant relief. This is no 
better than dried catnip, or some simple material 
which will burn easily. As tobacco is easily ob- 
tained it has been used, when other less objection- 
able means were not at hand. After the steaming, 
a little cotton dipped in warm glycerine is a good 
dressing. It softens the wax which sometimes 



MISCELLANEOUS. 30/ 

hardens, and is the cause o™ he pain. Great care 
should be used in syringing or handling the ear, as 
the drum is very delicate, and is easily broken. 
This accident is incurable, and causes deafness. 

DIPHTHERIA 

is a formidable disease if it is not understood or is 
neglected. It is a blood poison, and can not always 
be cured by hygienic means alone, except in its 
early stages. A knowledge of its approach, and 
how to care for the patient, takes away the fear 
of what has, all over the land, proved such a hor- 
rible scourge. If patches of red, or whitish gray, 
appear on the fauces, with pain when swallowing, 
it should be watched with great care. Put a flan- 
nel bandage lined with cotton-batting around the 
throat, first covering the skin with vaseline to pro- 
tect it from the air. A gargle of equal parts alco- 
hol and water used once in fifteen to thirty min- 
utes (or the spray from alcohol), sometimes swallow- 
ing half a teaspoonful, is effective in destroying 
the growth of membrane and the odor. If these 
means do not arrest the trouble, and there is 
fever, aconite, nux-vomica, and proto-iodide of mer- 
cury 3x, in powders, given in rotation an hour be- 
tween doses of three grains each, has in my knowl- 



308 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

edge never failed to cure. After the fever abates 
two to three hours should elapse between doses, 
stopping entirely the medicine when the throat is 
free of membrane. There is great danger of sequela 
from taking cold, and the utmost watchfulness for 
a month should be exercised by those having the 
care of persons with this disease. In this, and all 
contagious diseases, disinfectants must be used. 

DISINFECTANTS. 

Report of committee of experts appointed by 
the National Board of Health to prepare a circular 
embodying instructions for disinfection : ^* The dis- 
infectants to be used are : First, roll sulphur for fumi- 
gation ; second, sulphate of iron (copperas) dissolved 
in water in the proportion of one and a half pounds 
to the gallon, for fecal matters, sewers, etc. ; third, 
sulphate of zinc and common salt, dissolved togeth- 
er in water, in the proportion of four ounces of 
each to the gallon, for clothing and bed-linen. In 
using disinfectants in the sick-room the most avail- 
able agents are fresh air and cleanliness. The tow- 
els, clothing, and bed-linen should, on removal from 
the patient and before they are taken from the room, 
be placed in a pail of the salt and zinc solution, 
boiling hot, if possible. All discharges should either 



MISCELLANEOUS. 309 

be received into vessels containing copperas solu- 
tion, or should be immediately covered with it. Fu- 
migation with sulphur is the only practicable method 
of disinfecting the house. For this purpose the 
rooms must be vacated. Heavy clothing, bedding, 
blankets, and other articles which can not be treated 
with zinc solutions, should be opened and exposed 
during fumigation. Close the room as tightly as 
possible, place the sulphur in iron pans supported 
on bricks, in tubs holding a little water. Set the 
sulphur on fire and allow the room to remain closed 
for twenty-four hours. For a room about ten feet 
square, at least two pounds of sulphur should be 
used. Cellars, yards, stables, gutters, privies, cess- 
pools, water-closets, drains, and sewers, should be 
treated with copperas solution." These rules had 
especial reference to disinfection during the yellow 
fever scourge of 1879. With slight modifications 
they will apply to all cases of contagious or infec- 
tious diseases. 

When using sulphur for fumigating purposes, 
great care should be taken in lighting it ; close 
the nostrils and hold the breath until the door is 
closed after the match is applied. 



310 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

SMALL-POX 

is a disease which appalls the stoutest heart. To 
see, as the writer has in a few instances, the beauti- 
ful bride, the robust and healthy man, the frolick- 
ing and joyful child stricken down with this loath- 
some disease, and becoming a source of terror to 
the surrounding neighborhood, makes a resort to 
vaccination, with its uncertainties, imperative ; not- 
withstanding the able and scientific objections 
against it. It is admitted that cancer, consumption, 
and scrofula in all their hideous forms, have been on 
the increase from this cause. But when we know, 
as we do, that there are honest men in the commu- 
nity, and that at this day, pure and altogether re- 
liable virus can be obtained, it seems to make duty 
plain to protect the innocent. Enough can not be 
said in condemnation of an individual who can trifle 
with such responsibility. The law hangs a man for 
committing one murder. What punishment can it 
inflict upon the wretch who, for a paltry sum of 
gold^ is willing to send down the corridors of time 
the seeds of disease, corruption, and death, with its 
attendant sufferings, upon the unborn innocents ? 
Be sure, as you may, of pure virus, and vaccinate 
once in seven years, and it will stamp out small-pox 



MISCELLANEOUS. 3 1 1 

and with it its attendant horrors. In patients suf- 
fering from small-pox, wherever the skin is exposed 
it should be covered with soft linen cloths, wet with 
equal parts of glycerine and rose-water, to keep 
from pitting. Milk should constitute the food. 

INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM 

may come on very suddenly, or the patient may 
have pains for days previous to its taking an inflam- 
matory action. Put the patient in bed, and give 
plenty of boiled water as hot as possible to drink, 
to induce perspiration. Oil the affected part, and 
roll it up in batting (cotton), and if not better in a 
few hours a physician should see the case, as this 
affection sometimes goes to the heart, and an exact 
knowledge of its nature and extent is imperative. 

MAGNETISM 

is among the remedies for rheumatic pains and 
neuralgia, for which this age is famous, and about 
which there is little difference of opinion among 
physicians, especially in its simpler forms. Get 
a tinsmith to make two dozen discs as. large as 
a half-dollar each, of zinc, and as many more of 
copper ; make the edges smooth, and pierce three 



312 MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS. 

holes on each side of them. With these a simple 
and very effective application can easily be made. 
First, a flannel bandage three inches wide and long 
enough to go around the body. Then lap the edge 
of the copper discs on the zinc alternately, and sew 
them with coarse, strong thread upon the bandage, 
and proceed in this way until the desired length is 
obtained. This bandage can be wound around the 
leg, put around the body, up and down the spine, 
or applied to any part of .the body where the pain 
occurs. It sometimes makes a blister, which heals 
quickly if it is removed. I have known neuralgia 
of years' standing cured in this way. 

^ ABSCESSES 

may form in different portions of the body, and in- 
stead of considering them trivial as many do, a 
knowledge of the cause and of their nature should 
early be sought. 

A young lady felt a pain in the hollow of her 
foot, and went about limping for many days with- 
out giving attention to it. She had chills, and the 
foot began to swell, and she then called a surgeon, 
who pronounced it an abscess forming between the 
small bones of the foot from the strain which was 



MISCELLANEOUS. 3 1 3 

caused by wearing high French heels on her shoes. 
It had become so deep-seated and formidable that 
her life was in danger from gangrene, and the foot 
had to be amputated to save her. It is hoped that 
this silly and terrible fashion will soon be among 
the things of the past, never to be renewed. 



Mrs. E. G. Cook, M.D., 

IS LOCATED AT THE ABERDEEN HOTEL, 21st STREET AND 
BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 

Diseases of Women a Specialty, 

INCLUDING 

STERILITY AND DYSMENORRHEA. 



HOURS UNTIL TWO P.M., EXCEPT SUNDAY. 



Consultation Fee, by Letter or at Office, $5.00. 



DR. COOK REFERS BY PERMISSION TO 

Rev. Henry Patterson, D.D., Chicago. 
Rev. David Swing, Chicago. 

Rev. Robert Collyer, New York. 
Rev. Dr. Goodwin, Chicago. 

Rev. A. F. Chester, D.D., Buffalo, N. Y. 
Dr. Egbert Guernsey, New York. 

Mrs. Alex. Mitchell, Milwaukee, Wis. 



THE 

HYGIENIC PUBLISHING CO. 

is organized for the purpose of publishing and selling works on. 
hygienic and health topics, and especially books for women. We 
shall be prepared at all times to fill orders for any publications in our 
line, in addition to those we make a specialty of. We have now 
ready, Mothers and Daughters, a health manual for women, by 
Mrs. E. G. Cook, M.D. This volume contains information found in 
no other publication, and is of great practical value to women, for 
whom it is written. The following letter from Rev. David Swing, 
though a private and personal one, we take the liberty of publishing : 

*' Mrs. Dr. Cook — Dear Friend : I have read your manuscript, and 
am fully ready to tell you that it seems very valuable, and should be 
clothed in book garments, that the truths may thus go from house to 
house. Its themes are great, and the treatment of them is full, wise, 
and refined. Hoping it maybe published, and that its circulation may 
do much good, I am, with very kind regards, yours, David Swing." 

Egbert Guernsey, M.D., of this city, says : " I have been very much 
interested in looking over Mrs. Cook's manuscript. The subject is 
treated with great intelligence, and is full of information, delicately 
but fully given, which every woman should understand." 

Believing the publication of this work will do much good, and that 
it will be welcome to a large number of suffering women, it is now 
offered to the public. It contains a number of illustrations, is hand- 
somely bound, and will be sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of price, 
$1.50. 

As supplementary to this, we desire to call the special attention of 
the public to a new work written by Mrs. E. R. Shepherd, called 
For Girls, a special physiology. This book contains that which for 
obvious reasons must be omitted from school text-books, but which 
is of the most vital importance to the class for whom it is written. 
It should be read by all mothers, and the book itself should be given 
to the girls, for whom it is specially prepared. The author's "Ad- 
dress to Mothers," and a circular giving the opinions of representa- 
tive people who have examined the book, will be sent on application. 
The price of the book, by mail, post-paid, is §1.00. Agents wanted 
for the introduction and sale of these works, to whom special and 
liberal terms will be given. Send for Catalogues. Address 

THE HYGIENIC PUBLISHING CO., 

917 Broadway, New York. 



F"OR GIRLS. A Special Physiology; or, Sup 

PLEMENT TO THE STUDY OF GENERAL PhYSIOLOGV. By MrS 

E. R. Shepherd. i2mo, extra cloth, price, $i.oo. 

The foUowi7tg notices of this work are from Representative people^ and are d 
sufficient guarantee as to its nature and value 

"Jennie June" says: New York, August 8, 1882. 

Gentlemen: — I have read " For Girls" with care, ard feel personally obliged to 
the author for writing a book that is very much needed, and that mothers not only 
can, but ought to place in the hands of their daughters. Mrs. Shepherd has executed 
a difficult task with judgment and discretion. She has said many things which mothers 
find it difficult to say to their daughters, unless forced by some act or. circumstances, 
which alas, may prove their warning comes too late. " For Girls " is free from the 
vices of most works of its kind, it is neither preachy nor didactic. It talks freely and 
familiarly with those it is written to benefit, and some of its counsels would be as weU 
heeded by our boys, as our girls. Respectfully yours, 

Mrs. J. C. Croly. 

Mrs. Caroline B. Winslow, M.D., of Washington, D. C, in an editorial in the 
Alpha^ says : " It is a book we most heartily and unreservedly recommend to parents, 
guardians, and friends of young girls to put in the hands of their daughters and their 
wards. It fully supplies a long existing need, and completes the instruction ordinarily 
given in physiology in our high-schools and seminaries. This book is rendered 
more valuable and important, as it treats with perfect freedom, and in a wise, 
chaste, and dignified manner, subjects that are entirely neglected by most teachers ol 

popular physiology None but a woman \vith a crystalline intellect, and a pure 

foving heart, could have written this clean, thoughtful, and simply scientific description 
of our sexual system, and our moral obligation to study it thoroughly, and guard it 
from any impurity of thought or act, from injury through ignorance, abuse, or misuse. 
It has won our entire and hearty approval, and enhsts us as a champion and friend, 
to do all in our power for its sale, not for the pecuniary compensation of its author, but 
more for the lasting good of our girls, who are to be the teachers, wives, mothers, and 
leaders, after we have laid aside our armor and have entered into rest." 

Drs. S. W. & Mary Dodds, physicians, with a large practice in St. Louis, Mo., say : 
"The book * For Girls,' which we have carefully examined, is a valuable work, much 
needed, and it is difficult to say whether the daughters or their mothers would be most 
benefited by a perusal of it. You will no doubt find ready sale for it, all the more, as 
there is hardly another book yet published that would take the place of it." 

Mary Jewett Telford, of Denver, Colorado, says : "Mrs. Shepherd has earned the 
title of 'apostle to the girls.' No careful mother need hesitate to place this little book 
in her daughter's hands, and the probabilities are that she will herself learn some help- 
ful lessons by reading it. While there is no attempt made to solve all the mysteries 
of being, what every girl ought to know of her own organism, and the care of w^iat is 
so 'fearfully and wonderfully made,' is here treated in a manner at once practical, 
modest, sensible, and reverent." 

The Phrenological Jour7ial says : ** A book designed for girls should be written by 
a woman to be perfect ; it being understood as a matter of course that she possesses a 
thorough familiarity with the subject she discusses. The author of this book indicates 
an unusual acquaintance with the anatomy and physiology of the feminine organiza- 
tion, also a ready acquaintance with the other pnases of social relationship belonging 
to woman in her ever>'-day life ; with a more than common discrimination in gleaning 
just such material from general professional experience as is best adapted to ner pur 
poses. The style of the book is clear, simply colloquial, and has nothing garish, 
prudish; or morbid about it. It is bright without being flippant in thought, agreeable 
reading /dthout awakening anything of the sensual or exciting. It concerns the health- 
fulness and the well-being of the girls who are soon to become wives and mothers of the 
world. There is no doubt but what many of the seeds of diseases in women are sowed 
In girlhood, and therefore this book should be placed in the hands of every young 
roman, and of every mother of a daughter in the land." 



OPINIONS OF BEPRESENTATIVE PEOPLE, 

Mrs. Belva a. Lockwood, the celebrated woman lawyer of Washington, says: 
"Messrs, Fowler & Wells— Gents: I have carefully read and considered Mrs. E. R. 
Shepherd*s 'Physiology for Girls,' and find it a plain, simple, scientific, and rational 

faide for mothers and teachers in the education of o:irls. It is a useful and valuable 
ook ihat may safely be placed in the hands of, and should be read by, every young girl 
in the land. It takes hold of the structure and the functions of the human system just 
where the t)hy?*iology of the schools leaves off, and in a clear and simple explanation, 
tells what to do, and what not to do. The language is pure and chaste, and the writer 
has avoided th^v Technical terras which would bave rendered the book too intricate for 
the class it is designed to benefit. Mrs, Shepherd has conferred a practicable and avail- 
able blessing upon the world, and upon young girls in particular, in the production and 
'publication of this book. I have had an experience of fiPeen years in the education of 
girls, and feel that the writer of this physiology has solved a problem over which many a 
teacher's head and heart have ached." 

Sarah M. Ellis, M.D., of New York, says : 

'' I have just read 'For Girls' with the utmost satisfaction. It is a book that every 
mother and daughter ought to read. The subjects are treated with the most consummate 
delicacy, and yet with erreat force. Would that every word might be read and treasured 
as deserved. Really it is the book for the age. I wish it could go forth freely. I feel that 
the needs of such a book are pressing. I have spoken of the book, and my friends are 
eager to possess it, have promised to send for it." 

Dr. Dio Lewis, the well-known writer on Physiology and Health Topics, says : 

"It is a long time since I have read any work on the subject of human health with as 
nmch interest as your recent publication, 'For Girls,' by Mrs. Shepherd. 

■*1 have written at the conclusion of more than one chapter such words as, ' The best 
presentation of the theme extant.' I trust you are employing the most energetic meas- 
ures to place it in the hands of our American girls. A philanthropic person could spend 
$10,000 in no wiser way than to place it in your hands for the distribution of this ines- 
timable little book." 

Alex. M. Ross, M.D., F.R.S.L., of England, Medical Director of the " Society for the 
Diffusion of Physiological Knowledge, of Canada," says : 

*' I thank you much for the brave little book, ' ForGirls,' just received. Mrs. Shepherd 
has made the world her debtor by this valuable contribution to the literature of social 
science If a copy of this book could be placed in the hands of every girl between the 
ages of 12 and 20, in the land, it would prove a rich blessing to generations yet un- 
born, and do more toward the physical regeneration and improvement of women than all 
other existing agencies operating in that direction. I shall do all in my power to further 
the circulation of this book." 

Dr. M. Augusta Faikchild, author of " How to be Well," says : 

" 'For Girls' is a book of unusual fitness for its mission. The best judse of a fine 

Ealnting is often found to be one who is the least skilled in the rules of art, and so, per- 
aps, the highest praise an author covets, is that awarded by the appreciation of those 
to whom his books is a revelation. 

"A represertative of so large a class which 'For Girls' will reach and Wess, a young 
lady of rare culture and high mental endowment, but very ignorant of just what bhe 
ought to know, was persuaded by my recommendation to read this book with her mother. 
On returning it, she exclaimed with much earnestness, 'My good doctor, lean never 
be thankful enough that you placed this book before me. I feel now that my expensive 
education is worthless without the knowledge gained from the study of this good little 
messenger. Why, I was blindly groping my way, and this book revealed my position as 
on the verge of a precipice, over which, thanks to the author of "For Girls," and to 
the Providence which led me to read it, f shall not fall." 

"How did your mother like it ? ' Oh, mother thinks it a wonderful book, and wishes to 
Introduce it among her friends, though she has never before done such a thing as to talk 
of the subjects it discusses.' 

"There is just the strong point. The author is so very happy in her manner of saying 
exactly what should be said, that event he prejudiced, and I might add prudish, will listen 
end be helped. I congratulate the woman who has the ability and the will to do such a 
good work for girls and for matrons.*' 



OPINIONS OF REPRESENTATIVE PEOPLE. 

Mrs. C. P. Ballentine, the superintendent of the Somervillc School on the St. Clair 
River, Mich., writes : 

*' We have forty copies of Mrs. Shepherd's book in use in this school— it seems to us 
as a strono^ and bright lisrht illuminatino: many very dark pi ces in human knowledge. A 
wide introduction of this valuable lit'le book into the schools for young ladi'S, in this 
land and over the seas, would bring out of the depths of human tnisery, multitudes of 
poor women who have so s-inned against their delicate organizations ^-olely on account of 
ignorance ; and would save still greater numbers from ever bringing upon themselves the 
evils incident to a blind warriog against nature's laws." 

Dr. C. E. Page, the author of " How to Feed the Baby," says : 

" Of Mrs. Shepherd's book I can not say too much in praise. This is the book I have 
been waiting for, and wondering who would come to the front with just such advice for 
girls and their mothers. It is well calculated to open the eyes of many parents, and to 
fasten open many more who have been looking over and thinking of tlie points treated 
of in 'For Girls,' but who have been at a loss just what to say to their girls andhow to 
say it. I have read the book carefully, and could hardly suggest the addition of a 
word ; certainly I would not erase a single sentence, but put the book in the hands of any 
girls. Mothers should get this.book ; they need have no fear ol its harming their children. 
They must make their girls wise, to prevent others from making them vulgar. For 
the promotion of the moral and the physical health of their daughters, the wholesome 
relations between them and their parents, I know of no work which will compare with 
this." 

Sarah B. Stearns, a member of the "Board of Education," at Dtiluth, Minn., says: 
** 1 have had the pleasure of hastily glancing through your newly published work, en- 
titled ' For Girls.' 

'*It is a book of inestimable value to the class for which it is intended— our precious 
girls. Every mother should get it for her daughter, and every lady interested in the cause 
of education should see to it that leachf^rs have this 'Supplement to Common-school 
Physiology,' to put into the hands ot all girls who have become prepared to understand 

and appreciate it, by the partial knowledge given in the common-school course. 

*' If the book is as widely u^ed as it deserves to be, thousands and tens of thousands 
of women will have teason to be grateful to Mrs. Shepherd lor writing, and to Fowler & 

Wells for putting into print, this little epitome of all that young girls do most need to 
know concerning themselves, and what they may do toward keeping themselves well, pure^ 
strong, qnd happy y 

Mrs. Clemence S. Lozier, M.D., of New York, says : 

"I have read 'For Girl^,' and wish to give it my hearty sanction. Girls of to-day are 
the ' coming women ': with them rests, to a large extent, the future health and w^ell-being 
of our families, and the race. This book, while it treats of questions of the most vital 
interest, is written with the utmost simplicity and plainness in purity of thought and 
diction." 

Mary L. Heald, M.D., of Healds' Hygeian Home, says: 

"The work you have just published, 'For Girls,' is a very valuable one. It presents 
the truths of Science in an attractive form. The writer of the work under consideration 
will attract many by the simplicity of her style. Every girl should possess a copy of this 
excellent volume, for much of the happiness of the human race is dependent upon the 
intelligent action of our sex, in matters especially pertaining to girlhood, wifehood, 
and motherhood." 

Dr. Charles Cullis, of 16 Somerset Street, Boston, Mass., the Pioprletor of the 
"Faith Cure," says: 

" Thanks for the copy of ' For Girls.' I am sure the book will do much good, and I 
wish thousands of mothers might read it. To this and I pray." 

Mrs. E. B. DuFFEY, the well-known writer, and author of " What Women should 
Know," says : 

"'For Girls' has been received and has been read. It is precisely the very book 
which every mother wants, and needs to give her young daughter ; that is what I ehal- 
flo with my copy." 

Agents Wanted, to whom liberal terms will be given. Sample copy sent to any address 
on receipt of price, $1.00. Address 

THE HTGIKNIC PUBLISHING CO., 917 Broadway, New York/ 



OR 

HYGIENIC COOKERY. 

By SUSANNA W. DODDS, M.D. 

One large i2mo volume j 600 pages, extra cloth or oil-cloth binding, price $2.00. 
y^ 

The object of this work is to enable health-seekers, and those who 
would eat for life and for strength, to furnish their tables with food that is 
wholesome, and at the same time palatable. 

Foods as ordinarily cooked, are robbed of their delicious flavors and 
rich juices, by all manner of wasteful and injurious processes, after which 
one tries in vain to compensate for these defects, by adding condiments 
and seasonings ad infi^iitufn . 

The work is divided into three parts. Part First, giving ** Xlie 
Reason Wliy^" contains the philosophy of nutrition, giving the 
constituent elements of various articles of food, and their relative values, 
with directions for the proper selection and combination of the different 
kinds of food, and the reasons for some articles being better than others, 
with dietetic rules and hints in regard to Health in the Household. 

Part Second contains the ** Hygfienic Dietary.' ' Here we 
have directions for the preparation of food, recipes for cooking, etc., in 
what the author considers a strictly healthful manner ; including breads of 
all kinds, the preservation of fruits, vegetables, etc. 

Part Third is what the author calls ''Xlie Compromise,'' 
containing directions for preparing food, not strictly in accordance with the 
Hygienic way, but in such a manner as to render it more plain and health- 
ful than it is ordinarily found ; and it will prove helpful and suggestive to 
many who find it difficult, on account of surrounding circumstances, to 
adopt the more strict Hygienic cookery. 

Undoubtedly the best and most practical Family Cook-Book, and will 
contribute very much toward the promotion of Health in the Household. 

Agents Wanted, to whom special terms will be given. Copies sent 
by mail, post-paid, on receipt of price. For terms address 

XHB HY0IE;NIC PUBI^ISHIJiJG CO., 

917 Broadway, New York. 



HEALTH BOOKS. 



This List comprises the Best Works on Bygie?ie^ Health, Etc, 

Combe (Andrew, M.D.) — Principles 

applied to the Preservation of Health and 
to the Improvement of Physical and 
Mental Education. Illustrated. Cloth. 
$1.50. 



Management of Infancy, Physi- 

olo^cal and Moral Treatment. With 
Notes and a Supplementary Chapter, 
$1.25. 

Dodds (Susanna W., M.D.>— Health 
IN THE Household ; or, Hygienic Cook- 
ery. i2mo, extra cloth, $2.00. 

Fairchild (M. Augusta, M.D.)— How 
TO BE Well; or, Common-Sense Med- 
ical Hyg:iene. A book for the People, 
giving Directions for the Treatment and 
Cure of Acute Diseases without the use of 
Drug Lledicines ; also, General Hints on 
Health. Si. 00. 

Graham (Sylvester). — Science of 
Human Life, Lectures on the. With 
a copious Index and Biographical Sketch 
of the Author. Illustrated, $3,00. 

Chastity. — Lectures to Young 

Men. Intended also for the Serious Con- 
sideration of Parents and Guardians. 
i2mo. Paper, 50 cents. 

Gully Q. M., M.D.)--Water-Cure 
IN Chronic Diseases. An Exposition 
of the Causes, Progress, and Tennination 
of various Chronic Diseases of the Di- 
gestive Organs, Limgs, Nen^es, Limbs, 
and Skin, and of their Treatment by 
Water and other Hygienic means. $1.50. 

For Girls ; A Special Physiology, or 
Supplement to the Study of General Phy- 
siology. By Mrs. E. R. Shepherd. $1.00. 
Page (C. E., M.D.)— How to Feed 
the Baby to make her Healthy and Hap- 
py. i2mo. Third edition, revised and 
enlarged. Paper, 50 cents; extra cloth, 
75 cents. 

This is the most important work ever publish- 
ed on the subject of infant dietetics. 

-^ — The Natural Cure of Consump- 
TION, Constipation, Bright's Disease, Neu- 
ralgia, Rheumatism, '^' Colds" (Fevers), 
etc. How these Disorders Originate, and 
How to Prevent Them. i2mo, doth, $i.aa 



Horses : their Feed and their Feet. 
— A Manual of Horse Hygiene. Invaluable 
to the veteran or the novice, pointing rut 
the true sources of disease, and how to pre- 
vent and counteract them. By C. E. 
Page, M.D. Paper 50 cts., cloth 75 cts. 

Diseases of Modern Life. By Ben- 
jamin Ward Richardson, M.D., M.A., 
F.R.S. 520 pages, $1.50. 

The Health Miscellany. An impor- 
tant Collection of Health Papers. Nearly 
100 octavo pages. 25 cents. 

Gully (J. M., M.D.) and Wilson 
(James, M. D.)— Practice of the 
Water-Cure, with Authenticated Evi- 
dence of its Efficacy and Safety. Con- 
taining a Detailed Account of the various 
Processes used in the Water Treatment, 
a Sketch of the History and Progress of 
the Water-Cure. 50 cents. 

Jacques (D. H., M.D.)— The Tem- 
Peraments; or. Varieties of Physical 
Constitution in Man, considered in their 
relation to Mental Character and Practical 
Affairs of Life. With an' Introduction 
by H. S. Drayton, A.M., Editor of the 
Phrenological yournal, 150 Portraits 
and other Illustrations. $1.50. 

How to Grow Handsome, or 

Hints toward Physical Perfection, and 
the Philosophy of Human Beauty, show- 
ing How to Acquire and Retam Bodily 
Symmetry, Health, and Vigor, secure 
Long Life, and Avoid the Infirmities and 
Deformities of Age. New Edition. $1.00. 

Johnson (Edward, M.D.) — Domes- 
Tic Practice of Hydropathy, with 
Fifteen Engraved Illustrations of impor- 
tant subjects, from Drawings b> Dr. How- 
ard Johnson. $1.50. 

White (Wm., M.D.)--Medical Elec- 
TRICITY. — ^A Manual for Students, show- 
ing the most Scientific and Rational Ap' 
plication to all forms of Diseases, of the 
different Combinations of Electricity, 
Galvanism, Electro-Magnetism, Magneto- 
Electricity, and Human Magnetism. 
i2mo, $2.00. 

Transmission ; or, Variations of Char- 
acter Through the Mother. By Georg- 
iana B. Kirby. 25 cU.; cloth, 50 cti. 



Sent by Maily post-paid. Hygienic Publishing Co., 917 Broadway^ New York. 



WORKS ON HEALTH AND HYGIENE. 



Peck (J. h.) — The Human Feet. — 
Their Shape, Dress, and Proper Care. 
Showing their Natural, Perfect Shape 
and Construction, their present Deformed 
Condition, and how Flat Feet, Distorted 
Toes, and other Defects are to be Prevent- 
ed or Corrected. Illustrated. Si.oo. 

The Diseases of Modern Life. By 
B. W. Richardson, M.D. Ex. clo , S1.50. 

Pendleton (Hester, Mrs.) ~ The 
Parents' Guide ; or, Human Develop- 
ment through Pre-Natal Influences and 
Inherited Tendencies. Revised Ed. $1.25. 

Pereira (Jonathan, M.D., F.R.S.)— 
Food and Diet. With observations on 
the Dietetical Reg:imen, suited for Dis- 
ordered States of the Dig-estive Organs, 
and an account of the Dietaries of some of 
the Principal MetropoUtan and other Es- 
tablishments for Paupers, Lunatics, Crim- 
inals, Children, the Sick, etc. Edited by 
Charles A. Lee, M.D. $1.40. 

Shew (Joel, M.D.)— The Family 
Physiciai^'. — A Ready Prescriber and 
Hygienic Adviser. With Reference to 
the Nature, Causes, Prevention, and 
Treatment of Diseases, Accidents, and 
Casualties of every kind. With a Glossary 
and copious Index. Illustrated with nearly 
Three Hundred Engravings. $3.00. 

Letters to Women on Midwifery 

AND -Diseases of Women. — A Descrip- 
tive and Practical Work, giving Treat- 
ment in Menstruation and its Disorders, 
Chlorosis, Leucorrhea, Fluor Albus, Pro- 
lapsus Uteri, Hysteria, Spinal Diseases, 
and other weaknesses of Females, Preg- 
nancy and its Diseases, Abortion, Uterine 
Hemorrhage, and the General Manage- 
ment of Childbirth, Nursing, etc. $1.50. 

——Pregnancy and Childbirth, with 
Cases showing the remarkable Effects of 
Water Treatment in Mitigating the Pains 
and Perils of the Parturient State. 50 cts. 

Tobacco : its Physical, Intellectual, 
and Moral Effects on the Human System, 
By Dr. Alcott. New and revised ed., with 
notes and additions, by N. Sizer. 25 cts. 

Sent by Mail^ ^ost-paid. 



Shew (Joel, M.D.)— Children, their 

Hydropathic Management in Health and 
Disease. A Descriptive and Practical 
Work, designed as a Guide for Families 
and Physicians. $1.50. 

Sober and Temperate Life. — The 

Discourses and Letters of Louis Cornaro 
on a Sober and Temperate Life. 50 cts. 

Taylor (G. H., M.D.)— The Move- 

ment Cure. The History and Philoso- 
phy of this System of Medical Treatment, 
with Examples of Single Movements, The 
Principles of Massage, and Dii-ections for 
their Use in various Forms of Chronic 
Diseases. New and Enlarged Ed. $1.50. 

Massage. Giving the Principles 

and Directions for its Application in all 
Forms of Chronic Diseases. i2mo, $1.50. 

The Science of a New Life. By 
John Cowan, M. D. Extra cloth, $3.0x5. 

Horses : Their Feed and Their Feet. 
A Manual of Horse Hygiene. By C. E. 
Page, M. D. 50 cents. 

Philosophy of the Water-Cure. By 
John Balbimie, M.D. 50 cents. 

Chronic Diseases. — Especially the 
Nervous Diseases of Women. 25 cents. 

.Consumption, its Prevention and 
Cure by the Movement Cure. 25 cents. 

Notes on Beauty, Vigor, and Devel- 
opment ; or. How to Acquire Plumpness 
of Form, Strength of Limb, and Beauty 
of Complexion. Illustrated. 10 cents. 

Tea and Coffee.— Theif Physical, 
Intellectual, and Moral Effects on the 
Human System. By Dr. Alcott. New 
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Heredity. — Responsibility and Par- 
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Special List. — We have in addition 
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WORKS ON HYGIENE BY R T. TRALL. M.D. 



Hydiopathic Encyclopedia. — A Sys- 
tem of Hydropathy and Hygfiene. Em- 
bracing Outlines of Anatomy, lUus'ed ; 
Physiology of the Human Body ; Hygi- 
enic Agencies, and the Preservation of 
Health ; Dietetics and Hydropathic Cook- 
ery ; Theory and Practice of Water- Treat- 
ment ; Special Pathology and Hydro- 
Therapeutics, including the Nature, 
Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of all 
known Diseases ; AppHcation of Hydropn 
athy to Midwifery and the Nursery, with 
nearly One Thousand Pages, including a 
Glossary. Designed as a guide to FamiSes 
and Students. With numerous lUus. 2 
vols, in one. $4. 

CJterine Diseases & Displacements. 
A Practical Treatise on the Various Dis- 
eases, Malpositions, and Structural De- 
rangements of the Uterus and its Append- 
ages. Fifty-three Colored Plates. $5. 

rbe Hygienic Hand-Book. — Intend- 
ed as a Practical Guide for the Sick- 
Roonx, Arranged alphabetically. $1.50. 

Illustrated Family Gymnasium. — 
Containing the most improved methods 
of applying Gymnastic, CaUsthenic, Kine- 
sipathic and Vocal Exqf cises to the Devel- 
opment of the Bodily Organs, the invigor- 
ation of their functions, the preservation 
of Health, and the Cure of Diseases and 
Deformities. With illustrations. $1.50. 

The Hydropathic Cook-Book, with 
Recipes for Cooking on Hygienic Princi- 
ples. Containing also, a Philosophical 
Exposition of the Relations of Food to 
Health ; the Chemical Elements and 
Proximate Constitution of Alimentary 
Principles ; the Nutritive Properties of 
all kinds of Aliments ; the Relative Value 
of Vegetable and Animal Substances ; 
the Selection and Pre^rvation of Dietetic 
Material, etc. $i.<i5. 

Fruits and Farinacea the Proper 
Food of Man. — Being an attempt to 
prove by History, Anatomy, Physiology, 
and Chemistry that the Original, Natural, 
and Best Diet of Man is derived from the 
Vegetable Kmgdom. By John SMITH. 
With Notes by Trall. $1.50. 

Digestion and Dyspepsia. — A Com- 
plete Explanation of the Physiology of 
the Digestive Processes, vi^ith the Symp- 
toms and Treatment of Dyspepsia and 
other Disorders. Illustrated. $1.00. 

£4Mi by Mail^ post-paid. 



The Mother's Hygienic Hand-Book 
for the Normal Development and Train- 
ing of Women and Children, and the 
Treatment of their Diseases. $1.00. 

Popular Physiology. — A Familiar 
Exposition of the Structures, Functions, 
and Relations of the Human System and 
the Preservation of Health. $1.25. 

The True Temperance Platform. — 
An Exposition of the Fallacy of Alcoholic 
Medication, being the substance of ad- 
dresses dehvered in the Queen's Concert 
Rooms, London. Paper, 50 cents. 

The Alcoholic Controversy. — A Re- 
view of the Westmi7ister Review on the 
Physiological Errors of Teetotalism. 50 c. 

The Human Voice. — Its Anatomy, 
Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, 
and Training, with Rules of Order for 
Lyceums. 50 cents ; cloth, 75 cents. 

The True Healing Art ; or, Hygienic 
vs. Drug Medication. An Address 
delivered before the Smithsonian Institute, 
Washington, D. C. Paper, 25 cents ; 
cloth, 50 cents. 

Water-Cure for the Million.— The 
pM-ocesses of Water-Cure Explained, Pop- 
ular Errors Exposed, Hygienic and Drug 
Medication Contrasted. Rules for Bath- 
ing, Dieting, Exercising, Recipes for 
Cooking, etc., etc. Directions for Home 
Treatment. Paper, 25 cts. ; cloth, 75 cts. 

Hygeian Home Cook-Book; or, 
Healthful and Palatable Food 
WITHOUT Condiments. A Book of 
Recipes. Paper, 25 cts. ; cloth, 50 cts. 

Accidents and Emergencies, a guide 
containing Directions for the Treatment 
in Bleeding, Cuts, Sprains, Ruptures, 
Dislocations, Burns and Scalds, Bites of 
Mad Dogs, Choking, Poisons, Fits, Sun- 
strokes, Drowning, etc. By Alfred Smee, 
with Notes and additions ' R. T. Trail, 
M.D. New and revised edition. 25 cts. 

Diseases of Throat and Lungs. — 
Including Diphtheria and Proper Treat- 
ment. 25 cents. 

The Bath. — Its History and Uses in 
Health and Disease. Paper 25c,; clo., 50c 

A Health Catechism.— Questions 
and Answers. With Illustrations, xo cU. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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